The Biden-appointed Director of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) is facing major scrutiny over her support for initiatives to diversify the agency after the unprecedented security failure that led to the Trump assassination attempt.
Not only did the protective agency’s catastrophic failure almost led to the next president of the United States killed, and also left one audience member dead and others injured.
Despite mounting pressure, Director Kimberly Cheatle refused to resign but promised that the “buck stops” with her.
“The buck stops with me. I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary,” she told A.B.C. news.
Republicans argue that Cheatle’s efforts to diversify the elite agency created vulnerabilities.
“I think the the honorable thing to do this step aside, at some point there, my concern is, is that the focus of the mission is not is not the top priority with her,” Rep. Barry Loudermilk said on the “Just the News” Tv show.
“D.E.I., you know, social justice these things have crept into every element of our government. And I don’t have any concrete evidence on this other than what I’ve heard, but I’m afraid that some of these social issues have taken precedent within the Secret Service,” he added.
Cheatle, who has 28 years of Secret Service experience, has not concealed her plans to diversify the agency by hiring more women.
Cheatle highlighted her efforts to diversify the Secret Service by achieving 30% female recruits by 2030.
RealClearPolitics reported in April that the agency had joined the 30×30 initiative to increase the representation of women in policing fields nationwide.
“I’m very conscious as I sit in this chair now, of making sure that we need to attract diverse candidates and ensure that we are developing and giving opportunities to everybody in our workforce, and particularly women,” Cheatle told CBS News.
The secret Service’s rate of departure was 48% in 2022, a result of long hours and stressful work conditions.
In 2015, the Secret Service ranked last among federal law enforcement agencies in the influential “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government,” the Washington Post reported.
Clips from Trump’s Pennsylvania rally showed several female agents visibly unable unable to shield the former president.
One female agent even struggled to holster her weapon as Donald Trump was loaded into his S.U.V.
“Look, I’m not sure about who the individuals are on the individual detail, Secret Service, but I can tell you under this Biden administration, the one thing I’ve seen is massive D.E.I. hires,” Florida Representative Cory Mills said on Fox News.
“And I can tell you when you primarily, when you primarily go after D-E-I,” Mr. Mills continued, “you end up with D-I-E.”
Trump’s Secret Service detail on the first night of the Republican National Convention was notably entirely made up of male agents.
“After nearly getting assassinated while being protected by short women who didn’t know how to holster their guns, Trump’s Secret Service detail was back to being a bunch of big dudes last night,” Clay Travis, founder of OutKick.com and conservative talk radio wrote on X.
A former FBI official told the New York Post that the female agents looked overwhelmed during Saturday’s incident at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally.
“The women I saw up there with the president — they looked like they were running in circles. One didn’t know how to holster, the other one didn’t seem to know what to do, and another one seemed not to be able to find her holster,” former Assistant Director Chris Swecker said.
“D.E.I. is one thing. Competence and effectiveness is another, and I saw D.E.I. out there.”
In May, the House Oversight Committee began an investigation into Secret Service standards amid claims that diversity was weakening its ranks.
However, the agency spokesperson pushed back at such claims.
“U.S. Secret Service employees, whose work is vital to the continuity of government, are held to the highest professional standards,” spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
“At no time has the agency lowered these standards. The Secret Service received a letter today from Chairman James Comer, and we will work with the House Oversight Committee to provide a timely response.”
