Report finds holes and delays in how Secret Service updates its
protection policy
[September 04, 2026]
By JESSE BEDAYN
The U.S. Secret Service dealt with several drone-related incidents
without adjusting its protection policies or documenting why it didn't,
according to a government report released Thursday. That information may
have helped illustrate the emerging threat of civilian drone use before
one was used in the 2024 assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald
Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The report from the Government Accountability Office found delays and
holes in how the Secret Service updates its policies regarding threats,
and arrives after a few turbulent years for the agency charged with the
president's protection.
The would-be assassin in Butler positioned himself on a roof left
unsecured, nicking the president's ear with a bullet. Months later, a
man with a rifle got surprisingly close to Trump at his West Palm Beach
golf course. And in April, an armed man got beyond security barriers at
the White House Correspondent's Dinner, where the president sat.
The report found that between 2015 and 2025 the Secret Service dealt
with 83 security incidents and that they updated their protection
policies in response to 25 of them. Among the incidents was a drone that
made contact with President Barack Obama's motorcade in 2015 and another
flown about 200 feet (60 meters) over a rally for then-presidential
candidate Bernie Sanders.
Failing to document why the Secret Service decided not to change their
policy is the concern, said Nathan Tranquilli, acting director of the
Government Accountability Office, adding that the drone incidents were a
“compelling example” of that.
“Some of the missing information has been relevant to subsequent
attacks,” the report read. It cited the Butler incident, where the
culprit flew a drone for 11 minutes over the crowd, which helped him
position himself to get clear shot at Trump.
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A member of the U.S. Secret Service stands before President Donald
Trump arrives to board his limousine at Myrtle Beach International
Airport in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP
Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The Secret Service also failed to update eight of 22 protection
policies within a required time frame of four years. A memorandum of
understanding between the Secret Service and the Diplomatic Security
Service, which designates each agencies' responsibilities for the
president's overseas security, hasn't been updated since 1991, even
though an annual review and update is required. As a consequence,
the memorandum doesn't address newer threats, such as drones.
“When you look at the Secret Service and you look at their mission,
really it's a zero fail mission, and they’ve got a ton of
challenges,” said Tranquilli. “When decisions were being made about
where to put time and energy, some of these things fell to the side,
and, as a result, there were some delays.”
The report recommended three fixes, including that the Secret
Service revise its policy to require that, when a security incident
doesn't warrant a policy update, that the rationale is documented.
A spokesperson for the Secret Service did not immediately respond to
a request for comment, but the report stated that the Department of
Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, agreed with
all recommendations and plans to implement changes.
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