This past Saturday, presidential candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. One rally-goer died in the shooting, and two people were critically injured. The suspected shooter is also dead. What was a tragedy and a likely security lapse has also morphed into a debate over DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, a corporate catchphrase that’s become nearly as divisive as politics itself.
In the shooting’s fallout, the Secret Service, the law enforcement agency assigned to protect political leaders, was blamed as a whole for not adequately securing the area. But some right-wing pundits have also latched onto a niche cause: attacking the hiring practices of the Secret Service and specifically its director, former Pepsi executive Kimberly A. Cheatle, who has championed adding more women to the agency’s ranks. Conservative commentators on social media have singled out female members of Trump’s detail, criticizing them as less adept than their male counterparts for alleged blunders that were caught on camera.
“DEI Secret Service make Presidents LESS Safe,” wrote conservative political commentator Benny Johnson, calling out a “gaggle of female Secret Service Agents.” Far-right social media account Libs of TikTok, run by Chaya Raichik, mocked the Secret Service’s diversity efforts on X by saying that Saturday’s events were “The results of DEI. DEI got someone kiIIed.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R–Tenn) also chimed in. “I can’t imagine that a DEI hire from @pepsi would be a bad choice as the head of the Secret Service. #sarcasm.” On Sunday, he sat down with Fox News and doubled down on this sentiment, calling Cheatle a “DEI person” and arguing that despite her background as a Secret Service agent, the shooting “is what happens when you don’t put the best players in.”
Cheatle has been vocal about wanting to diversify the Secret Service for years. At the Women in Law Enforcement conference last year, she emphasized the agency’s commitment to diversity efforts during her keynote address. She also set a goal for women to make up 30% of Secret Service recruits by 2030.
Republicans have blasted the Secret Service’s DEI practices before. In May, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee questioned the Secret Service’s hiring policies after an agent assigned to Kamala Harris got into a fight with a coworker. Committee chairman James Comer (R–Ky.) Also sent a heated letter to director Cheatle, saying that there are “potential vulnerabilities” with the Secret Service due in part to a “diversity, equity and inclusion effort.”
Details are still emerging about the assassination attempt, and the Secret Service will have to answer many questions over the coming weeks and months about how a gunman could fire into what should have been a secure event. But the speed at which the discourse pivoted from the act of single gunman to a debate over DEI shows just how much of a cultural flashpoint the fairly mundane hiring strategy has become.
Business leaders like Elon Musk and Bill Ackman have become vocal critics of the issue, while others like Mark Cuban have been prominent defenders, pointing to the subjective nature of hiring in general. “Of course you hire based on merit. Diversity – means you expand the possible pool of candidates as widely as you can,” Cuban wrote on social media in January. “Once you have identified the candidates, you HIRE THE PERSON YOU BELIEVE IS THE BEST.”
Although many companies have said they would stand firm on DEI, some companies including Best Buy and Johnson & Johnson have downplayed their own efforts, or removed mention from corporate filings.
In a public statement issued on Monday, Cheatle wrote: “As the conventions progress, and in accordance with the direction of the President, the Secret Service will continuously adapt our operations as necessary in order to ensure the highest level of safety and security for convention attendees.”
“The Secret Service is tasked with the tremendous responsibility of protecting the current and former leaders of our democracy. It is a responsibility that I take incredibly seriously, and I am committed to fulfilling that mission.”
She did not comment on the criticism over the Secret Service’s diversity push. She’ll likely be asked about the agency’s practices on July 22; that’s when she’s been invited to appear before Congress.