Media: US Secret Service employees quitting en masse due to overwork
According to The New York Times, the US Secret Service faced an avalanche of work in 2024, having been ‘drained of blood’ by the mass layoffs of agents over recent years, TASS reports
As noted, the department understood that 2024 would be one of the most stressful years for it in recent times. The agents had to work at election rallies, political congresses, the NATO summit, as well as deal with the growing threats to the lives of political leaders.
It is reported that the US Secret Service approached this period unprepared. Instead of an increase in personnel, the largest outflow of personnel has been recorded in at least the last two decades: 1,400 of the 7,800 Secret Service employees left in fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
The reasons for layoffs include frequent overtime, which could not even be paid, and perceptions of favoritism in promotions. Moreover, two attempts on the life of former American leader and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump have exposed serious problems in the secret service department.
