U.S. Secret Service Protection Mission Funding and Staffing: Fact Sheet

Contents

• Introduction
• Notes on FY2025-2027 USSS Funding
• FY2025 Reconciliation Funding
• FY2026 Appropriations Lapse
• FY2027 Request
• Protection Mission Funding and Staffing

Summary

Members of Congress periodically focus on the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and its protection mission. The USSS has been protecting Presidents, other specific federal government officials, and their families for over 100 years. Over these years, USSS protection activities and operations have expanded, not only with an increase in the number of protected individuals, but in statutory responsibility as the lead federal agency for National Special Security Events (NSSE).

Over the past century, congressional legislative action regarding the USSS has focused primarily on its protection mission. The last two enacted non-appropriations measures were the Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-257) and Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-265). These laws amend previous laws to address the scope of USSS's protection of former Presidents and their families, and permits the Department of Homeland Security Secretary to offer USSS investigative assistance for mass killings when requested by state or local authorities. Annually, Congress (through appropriations and budget hearings) provides funding and guidance so the USSS can execute its statutorily required duties as detailed in 18 U.S.C. 3056, including its protection mission. This report provides funding and personnel data related to the USSS generally, and its protection mission specifically.

Introduction

The USSS conducts two mandated missions—criminal investigations and protection of persons and facilities. The criminal investigation mission (focused primarily on financial crimes) is the USSS's oldest mission; however, the protection mission receives the most public and media attention. The protection mission includes providing security for specific government officials and facilities.¹ The USSS is statutorily directed to protect the following individuals:²

• the President, the Vice President,³ the President-elect, and the Vice President-elect;
• the immediate families of those listed above;
• former Presidents and their spouses for their lifetime;⁴
• children of a former President who are under 16 years of age;
• visiting heads of foreign states or governments, and other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States and official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad when the President directs that such protection be provided;
• major presidential and vice-presidential candidates and, within 120 days of the general presidential election, the spouses of such candidates;⁵ and
• former Vice Presidents, their spouses, and their children who are under 16 years of age, for a period of not more than six months after the date the former Vice President leaves office.⁶

Separate from protecting specific mandated individuals and facilities such as the White House complex, the Vice President's official residence at the Naval Observatory, the Treasury Building, and foreign diplomatic missions in Washington, DC,⁷ the USSS is also responsible for security activities related to National Special Security Events (NSSEs), which include inauguration ceremonies, major party quadrennial national conventions, as well as some international conferences and events⁸ held in the United States.

This fact sheet provides information on USSS funding and staffing related to the USSS protective mission described above.

Specifically, this fact sheet provides

• Annual Appropriations for the U.S. Secret Service, FY2016-FY2027 (Table 1, Figure 1, Figure 2);
• USSS Protection-specific Funding, FY2016-FY2025 (Table 2, Figure 3);
• USSS End-of-Year Staffing, 2008-2025 (Table 3, Figure 4).

Notes on FY2025-2027 USSS Funding

FY2025 Reconciliation Funding

The FY2025 reconciliation law (P.L. 119-21) included more than $191 billion in multi-year funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including the USSS. Specifically, Section 100057 included $1.17 billion for "additional United States Secret Service resources, including personnel, training facilities, programming, and technology; and performance, retention, and signing bonuses for qualified United States Secret Service personnel." Funding was not provided in the traditional structure of appropriations or activities, and no spending plan has been made available. Therefore, that funding cannot necessarily be attributed to USSS's protective activities, and unless specifically noted otherwise, it is not included in this analysis.

FY2026 Appropriations Lapse

Annual appropriations lapsed for the federal government on October 1, 2025, and a partial government shutdown went into effect. After interim continuing resolutions restored funding on November 12, 2025, appropriations lapsed again for DHS (and therefore the USSS) after February 13, 2026. This lapse is ongoing as of the date of publication (details on the lapse can be found in CRS Report R48874, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2026 State of Play, by William L. Painter).

Funding from P.L. 119-21 intended for border security was used initially to pay DHS law enforcement salaries during the lapse in appropriations. (Law enforcement personnel, including USSS law enforcement officers, generally work without pay during lapses in annual appropriations.) Those funds are currently being used to pay all DHS salaries (including non-law-enforcement USSS personnel) until they are exhausted or FY2026 DHS appropriations are enacted.

Although FY2026 appropriations have not been enacted, the House and Senate versions of the DHS appropriations measure have identical amounts and structures for USSS appropriations. These amounts and structures are reflected in the FY2026 entries found later in this product. As aforementioned, FY2026 entries do not reflect funds made available under P.L. 119-21, although those funds are available for obligation through FY2029.

FY2027 Request

On April 3, 2026, the Administration released its $118 billion FY2027 budget request for DHS. The budget request included $3.55 billion in discretionary spending for the USSS, but contained very limited information on the projected use of funds provided to DHS under P.L. 119-21. Therefore, FY2027 values in this report only reflect the Administration's request for additional annual USSS funding, rather than any P.L. 119-21 funding planned for use in FY2027.

Protection Mission Funding and Staffing

The following tables and figures provide data on USSS total and protection-specific funding, USSS protection-specific operations and support programs funding, presidential campaign and NSSE funding, and end-of-fiscal year staffing.

The USSS does not provide detailed public reporting on its use of funding or personnel for protective missions, and staff move back and forth between protection and criminal investigation activities as duties require. Therefore, CRS has used two specific subdivisions of appropriations made in appropriations detail tables to identify funding specifically requested by the White House and directed by Congress to the USSS protection mission: Protective Operations, within the USSS Operations and Support appropriation; and Protection Infrastructure, within the Procurement, Construction, and Improvements appropriation.⁹

Figure 1. Total USSS Appropriations, FY2016-FY2027 ($millions of nominal budget authority)

Source: CRS analysis of appropriations bills and reports, and the resource table included in the President's FY2027 budget request. Notes: * - FY2025 also shows $1.17 billion made available by P.L. 119-21, Section 100057, for "additional United States Secret Service resources, including personnel, training facilities, programming, and technology; and performance, retention, and signing bonuses for qualified United States Secret Service personnel." This funding is available through FY2029. ** - the light orange column shows the USSS funding level included in the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of the FY2026 DHS appropriations act, which has yet to be enacted as of April 27, 2026.

Figure 2. USSS Protection-Specific Funding, FY2016-FY2027 ($millions of nominal budget authority)

Source: CRS analysis of appropriations bills and reports, and the resource table included in the President's FY2027 budget request. Notes: Protection-specific programs included in this total are Operations and Support / Protective Operations, and Procurement, Construction and Improvements / Protection Infrastructure. Other USSS funding contributes to the protective mission as well, including mission support and research and development efforts, but usage of specific amounts of those funds cannot be authoritatively attributed by CRS. Due to restructuring of appropriations accounts in FY2017, a comparable breakdown of Protection-specific activities is not possible for FY2016 or earlier. * - FY2025 does not show funding made available by P.L. 119-21, as it is not specifically assigned to protective or non-protective purposes. ** - the light orange column shows the USSS funding level included in the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of the FY2026 DHS appropriations act, which has yet to be enacted as of April 26, 2026.

Figure 3. Funding for USSS Protection-Specific Operations and Support Programs, FY2016-FY2027 ($millions of nominal budget authority)

Source: CRS analysis of appropriations bills and reports, and the resource table included in the President's FY2027 budget request. Notes: Other USSS funding contributes to the protective mission as well, including mission support and research and development efforts, but usage of specific amounts of those funds cannot be authoritatively attributed by CRS. Due to restructuring of appropriations accounts in FY2017, a comparable breakdown of Protection-specific activities is not possible for FY2016 or earlier. Funding for FY2016-FY2025 reflects enacted levels from appropriations measures. * - FY2025 and later columns do not show funding made available by P.L. 119-21, as it is not assigned to specific missions. ** - FY2026 funding levels included in the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of the FY2026 DHS appropriations act, which has yet to be enacted as of April 26, 2026. *** - FY2027 reflects the levels in the Administration's budget request.

Figure 4. USSS Staffing: Actual and Funded (Actual reported by OPM as of end-of-fiscal year)

Source: CRS analysis of OPM data and DHS Budget request documents. Notes: Pos. = positions; FTE = Full-Time-Equivalents. Funded positions and FTE for FY2016-FY2025 are reported from DHS Overview tables reflecting completed fiscal years. FY2027 reflects the Administration's budget request. Funding from P.L. 119-21 is not reflected in funded positions or FTE.

Footnotes