On Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) shared with Fox News' Jesse Watters some rather damning revelations from a whistleblower about the lack of training for agents assigned to the July 13 Butler rally where Donald Trump was nearly assassinated. The agents, with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received a two-hour webinar, and one that experienced audio issues. Hawley has since posted his outrage about an update that highlights the hypocrisy about the the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) priorities.
In a detail that he referred to as "beyond outrageous," the senator on Wednesday shared that the USSS' Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion sent out an agency-wide request for nominees to attend the "Out and Equal" Workplace Summit at Walt Disney World in Orlando next month. The summit is an all-expense paid trip.
"Agents assigned to Trump in Butler were only given online zoom training," Hawley again reminded.
You’ve gotta be kidding me. Agents assigned to Trump in Butler were only given online zoom training - but Secret Service has the resources for a DEI summit in Orlando? This is beyond outrageous https://t.co/EOkpbEBeYS
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 4, 2024
The details come from RealClearPolitics' Susan Crabtree, who has previously reported on revelations about the USSS and whose work has been cited by Hawley in his letters to USSS Acting Director Ronald Rowe.
"The call for nominees to attend the conference, which includes leadership plenary sessions, a 'Night Out' at Disney Studios, and a gala event the final night, is rankling many rank-and-file special agents and Uniformed Division officers," Crabtree pointed out.
Her post also speaks to a point that is obvious, especially to rank-and-file agents, but apparently isn't obvious to those at the top:
Many special agents and Uniformed Division officers say the call for nominees for the LGBTQ+ conference a the height of campaign season is tone-deaf when resources are stretched so thin -- especially in the wake of the J13 assassination attempt against former Pres. Trump that killed Corey Comperatore.
"I would like to know with the operational tempo [we're under], how they think this is an appropriate use of manpower?" one source in the Secret Service community asked.
While the USSS apparently has enough to prioritize paying for people going to this pro-LGBTQ+ summit, agents cannot even earn overtime pay. "A large number of Secret Service employees are working so hard -- many seven-day work weeks with no time off -- that they've already hit their 'supermax limit' for overtime pay, meaning they can no longer receive overtime for their work. One special agent characterized that phenomenon as essentially working for free," Crabtree's post also noted.
Questions about training still remain. "As I reported last week, rank-and-file Secret Service special agents are wondering if the DoD and the DHS personnel they are being provided will be ADEQUATELY TRAINED in protective duties. The Secret Service has used Army and Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers for many years, but USSS special agents want to know how these additional DoD and DHS personnel providing supplemental support this year will be trained," Crabtree noted with original emphasis.
‼️‼️ EXCLUSIVE: The Secret Service's Office of Equity Diversity and Inclusion today at 11:09 a.m. ET sent out an agency-wide request (see email below) for nominees to attend an all-expense paid trip to an LGBTQ+ "Out and Equal" Workplace Summit at Disney World in Orlando Oct.… pic.twitter.com/7foQoFZag8
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) September 4, 2024
The web page for this year's event speaks about "Illuminating Truth, Community, and the Path Forward" and boasts that the summit is, with original emphasis, "The largest LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion event in the world" and one that "brings together a global community of thought leaders and changemakers to knowledge share, exchange promising and/or best practices for making measurable and lasting change, and to network in ways that build important relationships that last a lifetime."
The event also includes a list of lessons and goals for attendees, the first being how they will "Gain knowledge, insights, and solution-oriented and actionable strategies proven to advance LGBTQ+ equity in the workplace and beyond."
As the USSS faces an image crisis, as well as questions over how agents can adequately protect those assigned to their protection, including former presidents and party nominees, it is rather telling to know that the agency is prioritizing summits "to advance LGBTQ+ equity in the workplace and beyond."
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