Embattled Secret Service adding more than 1,000 new staff
The Secret Service plans to hire 1,100 personnel in the wake of a series of embarrassing security lapses that flung the agency into the crosshairs of Congress, according to a new report.
The embattled agency will add 700 uniformed officers and 400 agents over five years, expanding its staff by nearly 17 percent from its current 6,647 employees, Reuters reported.
{mosads}That represents the biggest hiring increase in more than a decade for the agency, which is best known for its responsibility for protecting the president, vice president and their families.
The agency also works to protect senior officials and combat financial crime.
Highly publicized security lapses at the White House toward the end of last year led to a new director.
Two law enforcement officials told Reuters about the hiring spike, which comes amid a 16 percent increase in the agency’s budget, to $2.2 billion.
A Secret Service spokeswoman said the hiring “is the result of attrition, anticipated growth and in response to recommendations” from a panel formed after an intruder made it inside the White House in September.
The new hiring will begin in October, at the start of the new fiscal year, Reuters reported. It comes after the House passed a bill in July authorizing the agency to hire at least 200 more uniformed officers and 85 new agents.
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