WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� For the second time in more than two months, the Secret Service that protects the highest echelon of American leaders is under scrutiny 鈥� this time after along the fence of former President Donald Trump's golf course for 12 hours.
The man didn't get a shot off, but critics question how he could be just several hundred yards away from Trump 鈥� especially after the Republican presidential candidate's security was beefed up after his .
Biden administration officials praised the agency's response, and former Secret Service agents say there are key differences between what unfolded Sunday and in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman and opened fire, clipping Trump鈥檚 ear and leaving a spectator dead.
Authorities say camped with food and a rifle just outside the 27-hole Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the former president was playing Sunday. A Secret Service agent ahead of Trump poking through the fence and opened fire. Routh fled and was later apprehended.
It's long been known to law enforcement that places along the edge of the property leave Trump visible to those behind the fence, and some have questioned why it was not protected. But a sprawling golf course poses specific challenges, especially for a last-minute round, even with , former Secret Service agents say.
鈥淎 400-acre golf course with miles of fence line is breachable. And the systems put in place to mitigate those threats worked. That鈥檚 not to say they couldn鈥檛 do more. But there are limits to what is possible,鈥� said Paul Eckloff, a retired Secret Service agent who served on details protecting three presidents during his 23-year career.
The Secret Service is trying to protect a , from presidents to visiting dignitaries, in a vitriolic political environment. President Joe Biden and some Republicans are pressing for more resources for the agency still facing several investigations and whose after the first attempt on Trump鈥檚 life.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said Sunday鈥檚 golf game was not on a formal schedule or advertised ahead of time. That means agents may find out about it the day before or even minutes before it happens.
Rowe emphasized that the gunman never had a line of sight on the former president and that security worked as it should. He said the because Trump 鈥渨asn鈥檛 supposed to have gone there in the first place.鈥� Rowe described how agents spread out in front of and behind Trump, looking for threats.
Trump and his campaign have routinely while expressing concerns about the agency more broadly, including that his detail isn鈥檛 large enough given the threat level.
But some have raised questions. During an interview Monday on Sean Hannity鈥檚 Fox News show, Trump鈥檚 son Eric questioned how the gunman was able to stay in that location for so long without being detected.
鈥淭hose agents on the ground, they are remarkable,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut there is a breakdown.鈥�
Rowe a day earlier said, 鈥淭he agent鈥檚 hypervigilance and the detail鈥檚 swift action was textbook.鈥�
It鈥檚 not possible for the Secret Service to shut down all traffic around the golf course, said Eckloff, who protected Trump while he was president, including at two of his golf courses in Florida. This course is in the middle of the city and taking such a step would have huge effects on residents.
Trump loves to golf and owns three courses in Florida. Trump International is closest to his Mar-a-Lago home and is a place he likes to go with friends. While Trump was president, news photographers were often able to capture images of him on the green by finding gaps in the shrubbery.
Security around Trump was dramatically beefed up after . Trump now speaks from behind a bulletproof glass enclosure at outdoor rallies, and long guns are often spotted near locations where he鈥檚 staying.
The agency doesn't release specific information about his protection but Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Trump's detail now includes countersurveillance, a countersniper and counterassault resources. Before , some of those assets were used depending on the event but now they're permanently part of his detail, Guglielmi said.
During a POLITICO event Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas praised the response Sunday and said Trump's security is now 鈥渜uite approximate鈥� to that of Biden. Many Republicans doubt that's true.
Anthony Cangelosi, a former Secret Service agent who is now a lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the close call shows there鈥檚 a need for more personnel to protect Trump and they could have been used to secure the course's perimeter.
鈥淭hat visible presence is what you want to deter any actors from saying, 鈥極h, I can do this today,鈥欌�� Cangelosi said.
He commended the agent who spotted the muzzle but said there鈥檚 always a chance they could have missed it.
The Palm Beach County sheriff said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump were president, but because he is not, 鈥渟ecurity is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.鈥�
Following the second apparent assassination attempt, Biden said the Secret Service needs more resources and called on Congress to help. Rowe said the agency had 鈥渋mmediate needs" and that he's talking to Congress about funding.
Some lawmakers have said they're willing to consider it. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says money alone won't fix the problems but that he hears from Secret Service agents that 鈥渢he work hours are awful. You鈥檒l never convince me that more people won鈥檛 help.鈥�
Sen. Susan Collins, the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said lawmakers need more details, particularly because the Secret Service has said a lack of resources was not the reason for the security failures that led up to the first attempt.
Even if new money is approved soon, it can take up to 18 months to bring on a new Secret Service staffer, retired supervisory Secret Service agent Bobby McDonald said. The agency may want to transfer more personnel from investigative work to its protective side, he said.
鈥淭here is no quick fix,鈥� said McDonald, now a criminal justice lecturer at the University of New Haven. He noted that temporarily bringing in people from outside the agency to help can come with its own challenges because they don鈥檛 regularly do protective work.
Rowe stressed Monday that it wasn't just a matter of more overtime for staff, who he said were 鈥渞edlining."
Former agents also question where staff would come from. With all of the political vitriol and the immediate blame, Eckloff said he's worried about the effect of such animosity of those whose job it is to step in front of a bullet.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e worthy of trust and confidence, but they need help. Constructive criticism is absolutely necessary,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut just demanding firing or say that they鈥檙e failures doesn鈥檛 make anyone safer or increase national security.鈥�
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Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed.
Rebecca Santana, The Associated Press
