2 close calls have the Secret Service facing criticism and an uncertain future

The U.S. Secret Service is once again embroiled in controversy following a second apparent attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump.

The agency came under criticism in July when a gunman at a Trump rally in Butler, Pa., was able to fire multiple shots at the Republican presidential nominee, killing one rally attendee, striking Trump's ear and wounding two others.

The Secret Service had been made aware of a "suspicious male" loitering near the rally, but officials lost track of him.

Now, just over two months later, a second alleged gunman was able to make it within several hundred yards of Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida.

This time, the man, armed with a semiautomatic rifle, was thwarted when an agent saw the barrel of the man's gun sticking out through the bushes as the former president played golf. The agent began shooting at the armed man, and the gunman did not return fire, according to authorities.

Trump was uninjured in that event, and in a Monday interview on the social media platform X, he praised Secret Service agents for having done a "great job" in protecting him.

But both incidents added to criticism of the agency for letting danger get so close to a person under its protection.

What is the Secret Service?

The Secret Service is the official protection system for sitting and former presidents and vice presidents; their families; major party nominees to those offices; visiting foreign heads of state; and others. As of now, the agency has 36 people under routine protection, including President Biden and his family, as well as former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.

The agency was founded in 1865 under the Department of the Treasury to help combat counterfeiting of U.S.