Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the Secret Service led to Donald Trump’s near-assassination attempt over the summer, an agent has revealed.

The bombshell testimony from an active Secret Service agent lends credence to skepticism that the agency tasked with protecting America’s top politicos has strayed from its core mission in a quest to be more inclusive, thus leading to two attempts on Trump’s life in July and September last year. 

‘I believe agendas have taken priority at the United States Secret Service for a long time, which is why Butler and July 13 happened and why we got a president get shot,’ 13-year veteran Rashid Ellis revealed. 

Ellis, 43, is a graduate of The Citadel, a prestigious military university in South Carolina, and currently serves on the Secret Service’s Counter Assault Team – a small specialized team of heavily armed agents that protect the president. 

His damning claims about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) leading to Trump’s near-assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, during his notorious July 13 rally came during a trailer for an upcoming documentary called ‘Qualifications, Not Quotas’ produced by the Independent Women’s Forum.

In the clip he speaks out about how DEI policies at the Secret Service have undermined the group’s readiness. 

Ellis, who is black, claims that when it was time for him to get promoted he was passed over for a less experienced candidate due to a hiring quota. 

The Secret Service’s goal of hitting 30 percent female hires crushed Ellis’ chances of a promotion, he claims, and now he’s blowing the whistle on a system that fosters resentment, destroys morale and prioritizes gender over merit. 

‘To be in the Secret Service, you have to be worthy of trust and confidence,’ Ellis says in the clip.  

‘I’ve always viewed [it] as an honor and privilege to serve in this capacity,’ he continues. 

‘However what I’ve been told and what I’ve seen with the United States is a different set of standards based on gender,’ Ellis shares.

Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned from the agency in July after getting skewered by Congress for her handling of the Butler rally, had previously been an outspoken advocate for DEI within the service. 

‘I’m very conscious, as I sit in this chair now, of making sure that we need to attract diverse candidates, and ensure that we are developing and giving opportunities for everybody in our workforce, and particularly women,’ she told CBS News in May 2023. 

Under her leadership the agency was trying to hit a goal of 30 percent female staffing.

‘We must embrace diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) across the agency,’ she wrote in an internal memo.

Ellis claims he was a victim of these initiatives, and that they make Secret Service less effective since they don’t prioritize competence. 

‘Real danger is out there,’ he says. ‘We need to restore confidence. We have to be focused on the threat that’s outside and the threat that’s in front of us.’

‘Though I welcome the change of leadership at the top of the agency and the reforms I hope they will prioritize, I worry that it will take years to rectify the damage that discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion policies have caused,’ Ellis told RealClearPolitics in a statement.

‘The Secret Service’s role is critical, and if we do not clean out the rot that has embedded itself in this agency, our people – and our protectees – will pay the price.’

Notably the Butler shooting was not the only attempt on Trump’s life las year. 

In September a man hid in the bushes outside on of the president’s Florida golf clubs with a rifle and cameras waiting for the Republican. 

Soon after the Secret Service spotted the man, Ryan Routh, they opened fire on him, which caused him to flee the scene before he was later captured. 

Before the Butler rally there had not been an assassination attempt on a president since Ronald Reagan was targeted in 1981.