In a Washington Post online article dated March 4, 2014, District of Columbia Mayor Vincent C. Gray reportedly blamed the US Secret Service for periods of traffic paralysis during dignitary visits to the District.

Gray’s attack is misdirected.

When a protected dignitary visits any area, that dignitary’s itinerary is set by the dignitary’s staff and the representatives of the host, not by the Secret Service.  The places where the dignitary will visit and reside are not controlled by the Secret Service but by the dignitary’s staff and representatives of the host.

Only rarely will the Secret Service overrule the staff’s and host’s selections, and only then when those selections pose nearly insurmountable risks to the dignitary’s life or safety.

If Mayor Gray wants to minimize traffic problems created by protected dignitaries living in or visiting the District, he needs to express his wishes forcefully to the appropriate staff members.   Mayor Gray always has the option of telling the staffers that the dignitary is not welcome in the District.

Mayor Gray does not have the option of waiving the federal laws which require the Secret Service to protect the dignitary.  My experience is that the Secret Service’s level of protection is commensurate with the level of reasonably verifiable threat to the dignitary’s safety.   There will always be disagreements over how much is too much or how little is too little.