In the long and honorable history of the United States Secret Service, there has always been one unshakable expectation: protect and serve with discipline, skill, and unwavering readiness. Agents are meant to stand between the nation’s leaders and danger, trained to act without hesitation when the unthinkable occurs. But under the Biden administration, that sacred duty was compromised by a twisted devotion to so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion — or DEI — at the expense of safety, professionalism, and basic common sense.
A report this week from RealClearPolitics lifts the veil on just how far the agency fell under President Biden and the failed leadership of then–Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. It reveals a disturbing case: a female agent assigned to protect then–Vice President Kamala Harris’s stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, who never passed a Secret Service physical fitness test — but was kept on the job anyway. Why? Because she fit the mold of a DEI hire. Not only that, she was moonlighting as a plus-size model and posing in fashion magazines while holding a post in one of the nation’s most critical security agencies.
As journalist Philip Wegmann shared on social media:
Standards lapsed at Secret Service during the Biden administration so much so that an agent–assigned to protect VP Harris' family–not only never passed a physical fitness test but was allowed to moonlight as a plus-sized model, @SusanCrabtree exclusively reports. pic.twitter.com/Hxg4PEijXe
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) October 22, 2025
This is not a joke. It is not satire. It is a sobering reflection of what happens when a government prioritizes ideology over merit. The agent, described as a “nationally published curve model,” was praised on social media as a body-positive influencer and fitness advocate — despite failing fitness tests herself. She was later moved to a support role, but only after being assigned to protect someone in the vice president’s family.
The Secret Service wasn’t just asleep at the wheel — the leadership was intentionally steering the agency into a ditch. Under Cheatle, DEI wasn’t just encouraged, it was declared the agency’s “mission imperative.” A council of “Game Changers” was formed to push this agenda through every decision, every hire, and every promotion. The result? A culture of lowered standards and misplaced priorities.
This is not an isolated case. During the Biden years, we saw a pattern of collapse in the institutions designed to protect our leaders and preserve national security. From the cocaine baggie found in the White House to the failure to stop an attempted assassination of President Trump in 2024, the signs were all there. But instead of fixing the rot, the Biden administration doubled down on ideology.
Let us be clear: the job of a Secret Service agent is not to be a symbol of body positivity. It is not to be a fashion icon or a social media influencer. It is to protect lives. That means being fit. That means being able to run, fight, and respond instantly to threats. And if that standard cannot be met, the badge should not be issued. Period.
This DEI madness is not just weakening our institutions — it is putting real lives in danger. Imagine if a credible threat had arisen while this unqualified agent was on duty. Would she have been able to react in time? Would Ella Emhoff have been safe? These are not hypothetical concerns. These are the real-world consequences of putting diversity optics ahead of duty.
Thankfully, under President Trump’s renewed leadership, there is a new sheriff in town. The Trump administration has already begun offering substantial bonuses to recruit and retain qualified agents. But rebuilding a culture of excellence will take time. The rot runs deep, and the damage done by Biden’s woke experiment is not easily undone.
We must never again allow ideology to outrank integrity. The mission must come first. America deserves — and demands — a Secret Service that holds fast to its calling: to protect, to serve, and to stand ready. Not to parade down a runway. Not to check a diversity box.
Let this be a lesson to every agency and every citizen: when we abandon standards, we abandon safety. And when we abandon safety, we abandon the very nation we claim to serve.
