(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The DHS Inspector General has issued a report on the Secret Service’s counter-sniper team, finding that they’re overworked and not properly qualified.
The DHS OIG study was commissioned after President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated at his July 13, 2024, campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In that incident, Secret Service counter-sniper David King waited 15 seconds before returning fire. It was a local cop, Butler ESU operator Aaron Zaliponi, who shot at the would-be assassin first—likely incapacitating him.
The DHS OIG report doesn’t address the specifics of what happened at Butler. Instead, it details how the counter-snipers are overworked and undertrained.
Every quarter, Secret Service snipers are supposed to demonstrate that they can hit a target while standing, sitting, kneeling, and prone.
But the DHS OIG has revealed in a new report that NONE of the Secret Service snipers met that requirement last year. pic.twitter.com/RMcTlaoTWA— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) September 2, 2025
According to the report, Secret Service counter-snipers “must maintain their ability to shoot accurately during the daytime and at night.” To do so, they’re supposed to undergo a requalification process—quarterly for daytime shooting and annually for nighttime shooting. That process entails using their government-issued weapons to hit a target in a prescribed area while standing, sitting, kneeling, and prone.
Last year, all the counter-snipers met their annual nighttime requalification requirement. However, only 17% of them met the daytime requalification requirement in the first quarter of last year, while none of them did in the second quarter.
“Additionally, none of the counter snipers who missed mandatory requalification sessions submitted Form 4438, Failure to Attend Firearms Qualification, detailing the circumstances that prevented them from attending to their supervisor as Secret Service guidance requires,” the report added.
The snipers who didn’t requalify worked at 47 out of the 426 protective events last year, including at least three attended by former President Joe Biden: a Jan. 8, 2024, memorial for former Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a campaign reception in New York City on Feb. 7, and an event in Manchester, New Hampshire on March 11.
The report also reveals that the Secret Service was so overworked and understaffed that it had to rely on help from ICE and CBP snipers, as well as the "HSI special response team."
The ICE snipers guarded Trump and Biden's houses, which allowed the SS snipers to attend events. https://t.co/lwKw1KDMfK pic.twitter.com/Tjd4b48ewO— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) September 2, 2025
The counter-snipers may not have had the time to undergo requalification in the busy campaign season. According to the DHS-OIG report, counter-snipers worked a combined 59,828 of overtime last year, and 247,887 hours of overtime since 2020.
The DHS OIG report also said the Secret Service had to rely on snipers from other agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ICE snipers were used to protect Biden and Trump’s respective houses in Delaware and Florida, which allowed the Secret Service gunmen to attend events, the report explained.
The report doesn’t say how many snipers work for the Secret Service, but it does say that the agency is running “73% below operational needs.” The inspector general interviewed 28 counter-snipers for its report.
In response to the inspector general’s findings, the Secret Service said it’s in the process of hiring more snipers, and that it will make sure they’re better trained. However, the inspector general noted that the agency didn’t promise to make sure they meet their quarterly requalification requirements.
“Secret Service did not address the deficiency we found, namely, counter snipers who did not meet their weapon requalification and were assigned to protective operations,” the OIG said.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
