Biden Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle vowed to make DEI a priority of agency

In the wake of the assassination attempt against Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday, many have been asking how the Secret Service allowed a would-be assassin to gain access to a rooftop roughly 130 yards away from the former president and GOP frontrunner, with a clear line of sight. The would-be assassin fired off eight bullets, one of which struck Trump and another that killed a former fire chief who was protecting his family. Others were also wounded at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Eyes turned to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who was appointed to helm the agency by President Biden nearly two years ago. Cheatle prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and vowed for diversity to be a primary focus. During Biden's first days in office, he issued exective orders requiring every federal agency to prioritize the woke metrics for race, gender, sexual orientation, and transgender status.

In a past interview with CBS News, Cheatle revealed her top priorities for the agency, such as creating a "diverse" workforce that would prioritize making female agents up 30 percent of its workforce by 2030. She also boasted about allowing a female YouTuber to train with agents.

"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," said Cheatle.

In a separate interview with USA Today, Cheatle said that she looks forward to the day when "diversity is just part of this agency."

Secret Service agents have perhaps the most critical job in the world: protecting the President of the United States with a zero-fail mission.

Experts and critics blamed the Secret Service for Saturday's failures and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced that Cheatle would be called to a voluntary interview before the committee on July 22.

Other critics claimed Cheatle's office denied increased protection for Donald Trump on the campaign trail despite heightened threats. Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and conservative commentator, told Fox News: "There have been repeated requests to increase the security footprint around not just the residences of Donald Trump but the body itself, and they have been rebuffed."

Furthermore, social media users highlighted video footage of female Secret Service agents struggling to defend Trump during the attack. One of them was unable to holster her firearm, while another seemed too short to protect the president.

"The evacuation did not go right," said Bongino.

The FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel, Pennsylvania. Snipers neutralized Crooks but not before he shot at Trump after allowing him to gain access to a rooftop top 130 yards from the stage. The attack killed a local retired fire chief, Corey Comperatore, who shielded his wife and daughter from the bullets. It was later reported that a loal officer encountered the gunman on the roof where he was staging his shot, only to retreat, giving the shooter the opportunity to fire on Trump and into the crowd.

Former President Trump was ushered off the stage by Secret Service agents and transported to a local hospital. He suffered a gunshot wound to his right ear but . Trump issued heartfelt condolences to his supporters who were injured during the assassination attempt and a donation site has been set up for the victims on the former president's behalf.

X owner Elon Musk, who formally endorsed Donald Trump moments after the attack, called on Cheatle to resign. "Extreme incompetence or it was deliberate," Musk said. "Either way, the SS leadership must resign."