Secret Service agents used Hollywood producer Tyler Perry’s mock White House in Atlanta for a 2023 training scenario due to the agency’s lack of funding for sufficient facilities.

This admission was aired on the New York Times podcast, “The Daily,” where investigative reporter Eric Lipton discussed the poor conditions of the agency’s equipment and training spaces in light of the attempted July 13 assassination of former President Donald Trump during his campaign rally in Washington. Butler, Pennsylvania.

“The Secret Service is so lacking in adequate training facilities that it has actually sent its personnel to the Atlanta area on several occasions to train in a simulated White House that Tyler Perry, the Hollywood producer, had built as a stage there in Georgia,” Lipton said on an Oct. 14 episode of the podcast. “It’s hard to believe, but this is what the Secret Service has left as options for training its personnel.”

Lipton also noted that the agency used the front half of a retired aircraft, dating from the 1960s, for Air Force One protection training.

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A member of the Secret Service’s Uniformed Division walks over the South Portico and South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, November 18, 2022. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP)

Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, told Fox News Digital that in 2014, following security concerns at the White House, “an independent protective mission group recommended that the U.S. Secret Service build a replica of the White House to facilitate scenario-based scenarios.” training in real conditions.

“Because the current White House serves as a secure office complex, national museum and family residence, the agency is limited in how and when staff can train on-site,” Guglielmi said. “In 2023, former director Kimberly Cheatle collaborated with Mr. Tyler Perry and his team to study the replica of the White House used for filming in Atlanta. We also conducted a scenario-based training exercise at this facility to evaluate how a similar model could be used in Maryland to train future special agents, officers and partner agencies from DC, Maryland and Virginia who would respond to a potential emergency or critical incident.

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Former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Perry White House replica sits on a 330-acre plot of land on the former Fort McPherson military base along with many other sets and decorations.

“Over the past year, we have worked closely with Congress and the Department of Homeland Security to advance planning for the construction of the White House Defense Training Center,” Guglielmi said. “We are grateful for Congress’s initial investments, which were crucial in getting this important project off the ground.”

“Welcome to Tyler Perry Studios” sign outside Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta on July 27, 2019. (Raymond Boyd)

Last year, Congress allocated more than $3 billion to the Secret Service, according to a report released last month by the Congressional Research Service.

At the same time, the workforce declined slightly from a high of 7,811 Secret Service employees in 2021 to 7,689 employees in 2023, according to the report, while the number of protected persons to whom the agency is required to providing services has almost doubled since 2015.

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Secret Service staffing levels have declined in recent years as the number of people protected has increased. (Niall Carson/PA Images)

At the time Trump was shot, the Secret Service was also providing protection at the NATO summit in Washington, DC; the Democratic National Convention in Chicago; and the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

“In 2014, after an attacker jumped the fence and entered the White House, a conversation began about the need for a proper training facility,” Lipton said. “It’s been over a decade and the money still hasn’t been allocated to build this training center at their Maryland location.”

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A uniformed Secret Service agent stands guard after President Biden announced his withdrawal from the reelection race, outside the White House July 21, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Justin Sullivan)

The July 13 assassination attempt, in particular, highlighted the need for better Secret Service training and preparation after 20-year-old shooter Thomas Crooks managed to climb onto a roof about 130 yards from where Trump was standing on stage and shooting eight people. rounds, brushing the former president’s ear just before he turned his head.

The crooks also shot and killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore, a retired volunteer fire chief, and seriously injured two others, David Dutch and James Copenhaver.

“There are few jobs where you have to be perfect, and any imperfection, when it comes to protecting the president, potentially means the president’s life,” Lipton said on the podcast. “On any given day, there can’t be a single mistake in this job, and so it attracts a certain type of person.”

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Acting Director of the U.S. Secret Service Ronald Rowe Jr. speaks to the media during a news conference to provide an update on the investigation into the apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida on Monday, September 16, 2024. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned after the first assassination attempt on Trump. Acting director Ronald Rowe was named to the position on July 23, 10 days after the Butler shooting.

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On September 20, the House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at strengthening the Secret Service’s needs for protective missions.

“We thank Congress for addressing some of the most immediate needs of the United States Secret Service in this heightened threat environment,” Rowe said in a statement at the time. “This short-term funding will better enable the U.S. Secret Service to strengthen security measures in the months to come. We look forward to working with Congress on full-year funding to provide the additional personnel, technology and equipment our staff needs to do their jobs. jobs.”