GAO report flags policy gaps and slow updates at Secret Service over drone threats
A GAO review found the Secret Service often failed to revise or document its protection policies after drone-related incidents, leaving gaps in its response to emerging threats.
A Government Accountability Office report released Thursday highlights significant shortcomings in how the U.S. Secret Service updates its protection protocols. Over a ten-year span the agency responded to 83 security incidents but revised its policies for only 25, leaving many threats unaddressed. The review cites several drone encounters, including one that brushed President Barack Obama’s motorcade in 2015 and another that flew close to a Bernie Sanders rally, as examples where policy changes were not documented.
The report also links these gaps to the 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania assassination attempt on Donald Trump, where a drone was used to locate a clear shot. Additionally, eight of 22 protection policies were not updated within the required four-year period, and the memorandum of understanding with the Diplomatic Security Service remains unchanged since 1991, failing to cover modern threats. GAO Acting Director Nathan Tranquilli called the missing rationale “relevant to subsequent attacks.” The Department of Homeland Security has accepted all recommendations and intends to implement the suggested reforms.
