At a recent church service, a close relative expressed the opinion that President-elect Trump needs to “clean house” at the US Secret Service and staff it with vetted and loyal special agents. This caught the attention of a former Secret Service special agent, who spent the entire church service thinking about how misguided and unfortunate any attempt to politicize the Secret Service would be. Instead, the agent thought about ways Trump could refocus and energize the agency without being political.
One way Trump could do this is by signing an executive order exempting members of the Secret Service from existing civil service rules, allowing for immediate firing for “failure to maintain standards.” This would eliminate the need for the lengthy and bureaucratic process of terminating federal employees.
The hiring and selection criteria for the Secret Service are stringent, but like any other organization, the agency hires individuals from the human race. Sometimes agents fall asleep on post or have negligent firearms discharges. To combat this, the agent suggests that the Secret Service make protective detail training extremely challenging and difficult, with stringent firearms and physical fitness standards. Those who are not up to the rigorous standards should be re-assigned.
The agent also believes that the Secret Service should relinquish its investigative function to either the Treasury Department or other federal agencies that investigate financial crimes. This would free up agents to train more to focus on protection.
Additionally, the agent suggests that the agency re-assign investigative responsibilities to focus on protection, and eliminate redundant field offices around the world. Instead, the main large regional offices should be kept and focused on protection.
Overall, the agent emphasizes the importance of keeping the Secret Service a professional and apolitical organization, focusing on its core mission of protecting the president and first family.
