As Congressional members on both sides of the aisle grilled U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle Monday on how a gunman was able to fire shots at former President Donald Trump in an assassination attempt, several Republican lawmakers seized on gender and the agency’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as among the reasons for the security failure.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies during a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing Monday on Capitol Hill on the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump.
“Ma’am, you are a DEI horror story,” Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee told Cheatle during the hourslong hearing in front of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
Wisconsin Rep. Glenn Grothman asked the director if she was “not hiring men because of your desire to hit certain targets.”
And Texas Rep. Michael Cloud questioned Cheatle’s strategic plan for the Secret Service, in which she has championed diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, including her support for the 30×30 Initiative, which seeks to increase the representation of women recruits to 30% by 2030.
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“Does every Secret Service agent meet the same qualifications, or do you have different standards for different people?” Cloud asked.
“Yes, sir. Everyone who moves through the application process has to meet the same standards to become a special agent,” Cheatle answered.
Conservative backlash against DEI has been on the rise since last June, when the Supreme Court ruled to end affirmative action in college admissions. Several companies have come under attack because of their DEI policies, among them John Deere, Tractor Supply, Target, and Bud Light.
The latest DEI attack materialized in full view Monday against the Secret Service and Cheatle, but the issue had been brewing ever since the July 13 assassination attempt at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, where several female agents were among those protecting the former president and several conservatives questioned their fitness to serve.
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