A non-profit organization plans to defend women’s issues Sue the US Secret Service It alleges this is an “arbitrary” diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiative that disadvantages female employees.
The proposed lawsuit comes more than two months after some pointed the finger at female USSS agents Description of Former President Trump at his presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, when a 20-year-old shooter approached a nearby rooftop and opened fire on Trump with an automatic rifle.
“It is illegal in our country for the government to discriminate based on sex. It’s the 14th Amendment to the Constitution,” May Mailman, director of the Independent Women’s Forum, told Fox News Digital. “But Title VII also prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex. And yet you have the Secret Service of all agencies saying they want a 30% female quota.”
A Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the agency does not comment on pending litigation matters.
The liberal author and NYU history professor said the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump makes him even more like Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. (AP Photo/Ivan Vucci)
Melman said there is a “30×30” pledge that various law enforcement agencies have taken with the goal of reaching a 30% female workforce.
“And we know Kim Cheatle took it very seriously. We know she made hiring decisions based on it,” Melman said.
In 2022, President Biden appointed former USSSS Director Kimberly Cheatle, who subsequently resigned July assassination attemptmaking her only the second woman to lead the agency,
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rod Lamky, Jr.)
Cheatle previously served as senior director of global security at PepsiCo, where she was responsible for directing and implementing security protocols for the company’s facilities in North America.
Critics have accused Cheatley of prioritizing the ideologies underlying DEI rather than focusing solely on hiring the best for the agency. While at the Secret Service, Cheatle has stressed the importance of increasing diversity in the Secret Service. The “30%” stems from the women’s quota. 2023 cbs report Adding that the agency was considering increasing female recruitment to the USSS workforce by 30%.
“As I sit in this chair, I am very conscious that we need to attract diverse candidates and make sure that we are inclusive of everyone in our workforce, and especially women,” Cheatley told the outlet. We are developing them and giving them opportunities.”
Watch:
Currently, 24% of the USSS workforce is women, according to Agency website.
The Diplomatic Security Service – which is the protective arm of the State Department, while the Secret Service is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security – has a similar pledge to “increase the representation of women in its recruiting classes to 30 percent by 2030.” As stated in an April press release.
A shoe is left on the stage after former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show Inc. on Saturday, July 13, 2024 in Butler, PA. Trump was escorted off the stage after a loud noise was heard. Started speaking. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Melman pointed to three reasons the IWF objects to the 30% pledge: First, “It’s illegal, and you shouldn’t discriminate based on gender,” she said. Second, hiring based on gender or other identity factors rather than merely expertise and qualifications for the job is “particularly dangerous in the Secret Service”. Third, “it is particularly harmful to women,” Melman said.
“(When) the pictures from that day came out, it immediately seemed like all these women were police, and they couldn’t find their holsters.”
“I’m sure it’s not easy being a woman in any male-dominated field, including the Secret Service. But as we all remember, when the pictures came out that day, it seemed as if all these women were police, and they Can’t find my holster,” the mailman explained. “It seems like all the blame is on women, including Kim Cheatle. That’s what happens when you have a quota system… you turn women into symbols. It makes it really difficult for those women.” “who are trying to gain respect and earn their way into male-dominated fields.”
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, PA, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Vucci)
Agents receive criticism from conservative voices for handling of assassination attempt on X Matt Walsh, Dinesh D’Souza and even Elon Musk,
“It is an insult to the women of our agency to say that they are ineligible based on gender.”
“As an elite law enforcement agency, all of our agents and officers are highly trained and fully capable of carrying out our mission. It is an insult to the women of our agency to say that they are disqualified based on gender. Such baseless claims undermine the professionalism, dedication and expertise of our workforce,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to Politico. “We do not denigrate our personnel and their invaluable contributions to our mission.” We are united against any attempt by the US and are appalled by derogatory and hateful comments against any of our personnel.”
President Trump has defended the female agents who protected him on July 13.
Former President Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate, is covered by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, PA, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Vucci)
“Every single one of them — there wasn’t anybody who was slow. One lady who was on my right side, she was saving me,” he said at a rally. St. Cloud, Minnesota, Two weeks after the assassination attempt. “Beautiful person – she was trying her best to protect me. And she got crushed. And she got criticized because of the fake news because she wasn’t tall enough.”
IWF is joining the Mountain States Legal Foundation in investigating the Secret Service’s reliance on DEI policies for recruiting, retention and promotion.
Local officer’s bullet stopped Trump shooter’s firing before Secret Service shot, witness testifies
“Protecting the candidates for President of the United States is essential to the functioning of our republic, and the horrific consequences of assassination cannot be underestimated. Yet it appears that the Secret Service is pursuing its DEI agenda by appointing The priority is placing the best person for the job, regardless of gender, over necessity,” Will Trachtman, general counsel of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, said in a statement. “If it takes a lawsuit to change that, then so be it.
A vehicle carrying Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, PA, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Vucci)
The IWF and Mountain States Legal also believe the 30% quota is “arbitrary”. “Why not 31%? Why not 29%?” the mailman asked.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“We want women to be seen and treated as big, bad women,” she said. “We just don’t know because the whole thing has been corrupted by the quota system.”
The organization is looking for additional people who may have experienced discrimination in hiring or promotion by the Secret Service to come forward and share their stories.
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan and Hannah Grossman contributed to this report.
