Secret Service’s DEI Focus under Scrutiny after Trump Assassination Attempt

In the aftermath of Saturday’s assassination attempt that came within an eighth of an inch from likely ending the life of former President and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, a flurry of questions and controversy have emerged over security lapses at the Butler, Pa. campaign event, with particular scrutiny directed at the Secret Service, which observers say has been infiltrated by left-wing ideologies that have taken its focus away from its primary duty of protection.

Questions about the Secret Service’s commitment to its core duty of protecting the office of the presidency have been swirling under the tenure of Director Kimberly Cheatle, who was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022. A CBS News report last year revealed that she approved the agency expending resources and time to allow YouTube influencer Michelle Khare to train with agents.

During an interview for the report, Cheatle also stated, “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 opportunities for everybody in our workforce, and particularly women.” The report further noted that the agency aims to have 30% women recruits by 2030.

The Secret Service’s website includes a dedicated page to the controversial hiring practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), which places an emphasis on racial and gender aspects of prospective employees over job qualifications. The practice has gained widespread scrutiny for taking hold within the FAA and the military, among other government entities.

The unfolding of events in Butler over the weekend have further called into question the Service’s decision-making regarding the agents that were assigned to protect former President Trump. Footage of the effort to evacuate the president revealed that female agents who were shorter in stature than Trump’s 6-foot-3-inch frame were not able to adequately shield him during the rush to escort him to a waiting car.

“The Biden government enthusiastically embraces a DEI template for all federal agencies, which has resulted in marginalizing what’s really important,” Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bob Maginnis, Family Research Council’s senior fellow for National Security, told The Washington Stand. “At the Pentagon, the Biden officials make decisions that were previously based on merit, physical fitness, and a record of outstanding performance. However, Biden officials discard merit-based decision in favor of diversity, equity, and inclusion and mission success is thrown away. As a result, especially when physical fitness and sheer strength are indicators of mission success, the Biden people have purposely diminished our readiness to perform critical functions.”

Maginnis continued, “Evidently, the DEI protagonist is blind to the physical differences between men and women. That results in tragic decisions that leave women vulnerable to physical harm when size, endurance, and strength are key to success. Unfortunately, the current director of the Secret Service, according to media reports, used DEI criteria to hire new agents, and as a result, more women were recruited. Although those women may have the same mental aptitude for the job as other male candidates, they are invariably much smaller in stature and not as strong as their male counterparts. When stature and strength matter in situations such as reacting to violence against our leaders, the average man is better equipped for that dangerous task. Whether protecting a president in a dire circumstance or fighting the nation’s wars, sometimes husky, strong men are preferred to women who were recruited based on DEI criteria and not on the mission requirements.”

Questions have also arisen regarding the Secret Service’s failure to properly secure the area surrounding the Trump campaign event on Saturday. Arial photos of the grounds reveal that the building rooftop where the alleged shooter fired the shots that struck Trump and multiple civilians was a mere 430 feet from the stage and had a direct line of sight to it. Furthermore, multiple bystanders witnessed the shooter scaling the building’s wall and immediately alerted law enforcement officials, but the shooter was still somehow able to elude detection for several minutes before firing the shots.

On Sunday, President Biden stated that he has ordered an “independent review” of the security measures taken for the Butler event and has ordered Cheatle “to review all security measures … for the Republican National Convention.”

More investigations into the incident are also on the horizon in Congress, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

“We’re blessed to have … former law enforcement guys in the House Republican Conference,” he observed during Monday’s “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins.” “We have a former FBI agent. We’ve got lots of military experts and people [with] this [as] their specialty. I’m working with a subset of those members, and we’re compiling a list of questions that we must get answered. The first hearings for oversight will be scheduled next Monday when we return to the Hill. We’ll begin with the director of Secret Service, Miss Cheatle, and there’s a lot of things to answer to.”

“Look, Donald Trump is the most persecuted, attacked, and threatened public figure, probably in history, at least since Abraham Lincoln,” Johnson emphasized. “And he’s a former president as well, not just a candidate. The idea that they would not have the greatest level of protection on that field this weekend is just unconscionable, and we hope that there are satisfactory answers to the very important questions we have.”