In the wake of the failed assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump, the United States Secret Service (USSS) is now facing a lawsuit over its implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) rules.
As Fox News reports, the lawsuit filed by the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) challenges the agency’s use of “arbitrary” diversity requirements which, the group claims, are harmful to women.
“In our country, it is illegal for the government to discriminate on the basis of sex. That is the Constitution’s 14th Amendment,” said May Mailman, a spokeswoman for the IWF.
“But also Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex. And yet you have the Secret Service, of all agencies, saying that they want to have a 30% female quota.”
Currently, women make up 24% of the workforce in the USSS, still falling short of the “30×30” pledge that multiple law enforcement agencies have taken, vowing to get their workforce up to no less than 30%.
“And we know that Kim Cheatle took this very seriously,” Mailman added.
“We know that she made hiring decisions based on this.”
Kimberly Cheatle, the former Director of the Secret Service, received universal condemnation for her poor leadership and multiple security lapses which led to the first attempt against President Trump on July 13th, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. After several congressional hearings and widespread calls for her resignation, she stepped down on July 23rd, 10 days after the attempt. Deputy Director Ronald Rowe has since taken on the role of Acting Director.
Mailman gave her reasons for being against the 30% policy, saying that “it’s illegal, and you shouldn’t discriminate on the basis of sex,” and also that “it’s particularly dangerous in the Secret Service,” and “particularly harmful to women.”
“As we all remember, when the pictures of that day came out, it was immediately like these women are all cops, and they can’t find their holster,” Mailman continued.
“All of the blame seems to be on women, including Kim Cheatle, all the way down. That’s what happens when you have quota systems.”
In the video footage of the assassination attempt, criticism was particularly aimed at the conduct of the few female agents who were part of President Trump’s detail that day. Several women were noticeably overweight, with one seen cowering behind other agents and President Trump immediately after the shots rang out, while another one visibly struggled to re-holster her weapon as President Trump was being escorted into a vehicle to be taken to the hospital.
