Trump rally shooting put scrutiny on Secret Service women, diversity efforts. Here are the facts.

After an armed man climbed a rooftop and fired off rounds in an attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump, who stood 450 feet away, questions swirled about how one of the nation’s premier security agencies could have allowed such a significant breach.

Some conservative influencers and representatives claimed they knew the culprit: women — particularly women they believe were hired because of the U.S. Secret Service’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.

DEI initiatives broadly include efforts to increase diversity in ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, culture, class, religion and opinion. But the Secret Service’s women agents at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally have borne the brunt of the post-shooting criticism. 

"Absolute humiliation for this gaggle of female Secret Service Agents," conservative political commentator Benny Johnson wrote July 14 on X, a day after the Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting that killed one man and injured Trump and two others. "DEI Secret Service make Presidents LESS Safe."

DEI critics seized on video clips from the attack that showed women in Trump’s Secret Service detail at the forefront.

One viral clip showed a Secret Service agent who appeared to have difficulty holstering her weapon after Trump entered an SUV. In another widely shared video, a woman’s voice can be heard yelling, "What are we doing?" and "Where are we going?" as Secret Service agents rushed onstage to Trump seconds after gunshots rang out.

Conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro speculated in a July 14 video on X, that "perhaps one of the explanations for how you end up with Secret Service agents who don’t know how to reholster a weapon is the fact that they have been actively attempting to DEI the entire Secret Service."

Shapiro’s video cited a May 2023 CBS News story, in which Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said she wanted the agency to hire more women. 

Libs of TikTok, a conservative X account with a large following that often shares anti-trans posts, also criticized the Secret Service and DEI. 

"Secret Service Director a few months ago: We’re focusing on hiring more women to be more diverse," Libs of TikTok wrote July 14, sharing the same CBS News segment of Cheatle and the two viral rally clips. "The results of DEI. DEI got someone kiIIed."

Elon Musk, Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., and Meghan McCain, TV personality and daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also questioned female Secret Service agents’ capabilities and the agency’s hiring practices. 

In Congress, Cheatle is facing bipartisan calls to resign because of the assassination attempt. During a July 22 congressional hearing, Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and ranking member Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., both called for her to step down. Cheatle resigned July 23.

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies July 22, 2024, during a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing after the July 13 attempted assassination of President Donald Trump. (AP)

Conservatives in recent years have repeatedly criticized DEI, with some blaming diversity initiatives for incidents such as the Baltimore bridge collapse and a Boeing passenger jet losing a door midflight. 

Focusing on the attempted Trump assassination, conservative podcast host Matt Walsh wrote on X, "There should not be any women in the Secret Service. These are supposed to be the very best, and none of the very best at this job are women." 

Gina Bennett, a former CIA analyst and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies, described the scrutiny of the women in the rally videos as "Monday morning quarterbacking." 

"All I saw in the video were appropriate heads on a swivel," she said. After the fact, it is easy to judge what happened in the video clips as "as if it were chaos," she said.

"But, no one knew at that moment that there was only one assailant," Bennett said. "The next shooter could have been right there ready to rush the presidential vehicle. Heads on a swivel is not chaos or lack of confidence. It’s doing your job."

The U.S. Secret Service is probably best known for its cadre of suit-and-sunglasses clad "special agents" who protect America’s leaders including the president, former presidents, and major presidential and vice presidential candidates. But the agency itself has a much more expansive role. 

It was established in 1865 to address the rampant currency counterfeiting during the Civil War; the Secret Service still investigates financial crimes today.  

After President William McKinley’s assassination in 1901, the Secret Service was assigned to protect the president. The agency is also now responsible for security surrounding the White House, Treasury Department and vice presidential residence, along with major political events such as inaugurations, international summits and political conventions. 

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP)

In 1971, the Secret Service swore in its first cohort of women. Then-Secret Service Director James J. Rowley told The Associated Press that the new special agents "will be expected to do everything the men do" and would receive equal pay.

Today, women constitute 24% of the Secret Service’s workforce. The agency’s 2021 Special Agent Class marked the first time women trainees outnumbered men.

Hiring more women is an explicit part of the Secret Service’s recruitment strategy: "Secret Service prioritizes recruiting women candidates," the agency’s website said. 

The agency’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Program has initiatives to recruit African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, people from indigenous nations, women, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. Its website notes that several of these initiatives date back to the administrations of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. 

The Secret Service also has its Federal Women's Program, started in the 1960s during Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration. The program was established across federal agencies to address issues affecting women’s employment and advancement. 

In the CBS interview, Cheatle said the agency wants 30% female recruits by 2030. 

"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 said.

Hours after the Trump rally shooting, in a July 13 X post, U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., described Cheatle as "a DEI hire from @pepsi" and criticized her position as head of the Secret Service. Before Cheatle became the second woman appointed to the Secret Service’s top job in 2022, Cheatle was the senior director global security at PepsiCo. Before that, she had served with the Secret Service for more than 25 years.

In response to PolitiFact’s questions about Burchett’s statement, his spokesperson wrote in an email, "The Biden administration has a track record of DEI hires, such as the Vice President, and Director Cheatle made clear she wanted to prioritize DEI by announcing the goal to have 30% female USSS (U.S. Secret Service) recruits by 2030."

The FBI, Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Marshals, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have all made similar commitments for a 30% female recruitment rate, sometimes referred to as the "30x30 pledge."  

After the July 13 shooting, President Joe Biden ordered an independent investigation into how Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, accessed a roof near the campaign rally and opened fire, killing one person and injuring Trump and at least two others. Cheatle said the Secret Service would "participate fully" in that review. 

Cheatle testified July 22 before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee. Before lawmakers questioned her, Cheatle described the assassination attempt as "the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades" and said that as the agency’s director, she took full responsibility for the failure. She also praised the actions of Trump’s security detail that day.

During the hearing, Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, cited a goal in the Secret Service’s strategic plan to "champion diversity, equity and inclusion and accessibility." He then asked Cheatle, "Do you keep the same standards for all applicants?" 

She replied: "Yes, sir. Everyone who moves through the application process has to meet the same standards to become a special agent." 

Several groups advocating for more women in law enforcement condemned the anti-DEI rhetoric, calling such attacks on diversity initiatives "disingenuous distractions" aiming "to sow division." 

"Our associations are disheartened by the reductive attacks on the U.S. Secret Service, Director Cheatle, and the 30x30 Initiative following the tragic shooting at former President Trump’s rally over the weekend," wrote groups including the 30x30 Initiative, Women in Federal Law Enforcement, the International Association of Women Police. "Statements blaming this shooting on efforts to promote gender equity are disingenuous at best and deeply dangerous at worst."

The groups’ statement continued: "We do not and would not encourage nor support agencies hiring or promoting law enforcement officers based solely on their gender, nor do we support agencies lowering their standards in any way. Rather, we advocate for testing and training specific to the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to be effective in these roles, ensuring all candidates are evaluated fairly and comprehensively." 

The Secret Service’s website outlines how its special agents’ physical fitness capabilities are evaluated; the way that performance is scored depends on age category and gender. 

Kimberly Walton, the CEO and founder of the diversity consulting company DiverseUSA who previously worked in the Transportation Security Administration's Civil Rights & Liberties, Ombudsman and Traveler Engagement’s office, said DEI policies expand the candidate pool to include "the best and brightest from all backgrounds" and do not mean compromising on qualifications. 

"A diverse and inclusive security team is better equipped to understand and respond to a wide range of threats," she said. "A team that reflects the diversity of the community it serves is more likely to recognize and address potential security issues that might be overlooked by a more homogenous group."  

Bennett of Georgetown University said there might be reasonable concerns about whether a person has the physical aptitude to do a job, but noted "that is not limited to gender."

Alluding to the rally shooting, Bennett said the standard procedure after a security incident is to review "all video and other evidence in their investigations in order to evaluate any missteps and areas for improvement or change." 

Shaun Harper, a professor of business, education and public policy at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, echoed Bennett about the need for further  investigation.

"It’s too soon to definitively determine what led to the security failures," he said. "Defaulting to gender as the explanation is both sexist and baseless."

UPDATE: July 23, 2024: We updated this story to include news of Kimberly Cheatle's resignation.

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