Rep. Tim Burchett: Vice President Harris and Secret Service director are both a 'DEI hire'

On the same day on Capitol Hill, U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett dismissed the qualifications of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and Vice President Kamala Harris, calling both women "DEI hires."

At a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing where members grilled Cheatle about the security lapse that led to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the Knoxville Republican said the Secret Service chief should be fired.

Burchett called Cheatle a "DEI horror story," referring to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to expand opportunities for women and people of color in workplaces and create more inclusive organizational cultures. He told Knox News he thinks President Joe Biden hired Cheatle simply because she is a woman. Before Cheatle was named director, she was the senior director of global security for PepsiCo, and before joining PepsiCo, she served 27 years in the Secret Service, including as assistant director of the office of protective operations.

He used the same language to a CNN reporter about Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman and first person of Black and Asian heritage to occupy the office and now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Harris served as a U.S. senator from California from 2017-2021 and the attorney general of California from 2011-2017 before she was elected vice president in 2020. Harris and President Joe Biden received more than 81.2 million votes, the highest total in American history by more than 8.6%.

“Biden said, first off, he’s going to hire a Black female for Vice President, and he just skipped over – what about white females, what about any other group? When you go down that route, you take mediocrity, and that’s what they have right now as the vice president,” Burchett told CNN’s Manu Raju. “100% she was a DEI hire,” he added. “Her record is abysmal at best.”

Burchett is up for reelection Nov. 5. He's unopposed in the Aug. 1 primary but is set to face Democrat Jane George in the general election. Her campaign is based on women's rights.

"Racism and misogyny must stop right here, right now," George said about Burchett's comments. "Women can see the efforts of extremists to silence us. This kind of demeaning language is not only inappropriate for a congressional leader, it is an embarrassment for those he represents. Tennesseans are better than this."

House lawmakers are slated to vote this week to establish a bipartisan task force to investigate the attempted assassination of Trump. The task force will comprise six Republicans appointed by House Speaker Mike Johnson and five Democrats appointed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Burchett spokesman Rachel Partlow told Knox News he's "committed to investigating the matter," but hasn't said whether he wants to join the task force.

Burchett had five minutes to question Cheatle during the hearing. Here's what he asked.

Burchett: The shooter was set up on the roof of the AGR International building, as we know. Was the roof identified as a potential vulnerability days before the rally?

Cheatle: To my knowledge, yes it was.

Burchett: Were agents or officers inside the building? If so, what floor were they on?

Cheatle: We had local police officers inside the building.

The roof looks like it's a tin roof. How did nobody inside the building hear someone moving on top of a metal roof?

Cheatle: I don't have the details of all the interviews that have been conducted yet.

Burchett: When will you have those?

Cheatle: I have been asking and I want to have that information as soon as you do as well.

Why did Secret Service fail to block the line of sight from the roof?

Cheatle: I think the Secret Service put together a plan where they were counting that roof in as part of their over watch and that was the plan that they had put in place.

If you weren't going to put a security person on that roof, why not at least use drone technology or aerial surveillance to monitor the rally?

Cheatle: There are a number of times we use drone technology, I'm not speaking specifically to this event and what was utilized or not. There are times when drone technology is available and helpful at events, and there are times that it is not appropriate.

Do you personally use Signal to communicate with any official from the White House?

Editor's note: Signal is an encrypted service for instant messages, including texts, and voice and video calls.

Cheatle: On occasion, I'm sure there are people that use Signal.

Burchett: Do you use it to speak with the White House?

Cheatle: No, I do not.

When was Thomas Crooks first identified as a person of interest? Let me help you. It was at 5:10. He was spotted with a range finder at 5:51. When did Secret Service notice him?

Cheatle: I don't have those specific time lines but it was a relatively short period of time ...

Burchett, interrupting: Let me help you. It was 5:52.

Why was (former) President Trump allowed on stage 10 minutes after the Secret Service identified a suspicious individual? That seems to me to be the worse thing of all. Of all the communication and all the B.S. you've been feeding us, or not feeding us, that seems to be the question?

Cheatle: As I've stated before, there are a number of events where suspicious people may be identified. That doesn't necessarily ...

Burchett, interrupting: Ma'am I submit to you, you've got a guy who's gonna be the next president of the United States. He's on stage. I've been to these events, we've all been to these events. A car backfires and there's a 15-minute dadgum wait. That's not acceptable.

Did the Secret Service tell (former) President Trump they spotted a suspicious individual before he was shot?

Cheatle: I am unclear as to what the communication was with the former president at that time.

Did y'all deny (former) President Trump's request for more security to the event, yes or no? When was the most recent request for additional security?

Cheatle: The rally request for security, all of those requests, were fulfilled.

Burchett: Were there any personnel redirected to Jill Biden's rally?

Cheatle: No.

Why was there a different detail on the opening night of the convention than the detail that was guarding him in Pennsylvania?

Cheatle: (Trump) has a very large permanent protection detail that is assigned to him. They work shift work and so it could be that people you saw at the rally were not working the same shift the day that he was at the RNC.

You can't seem to answer a single question about an ongoing investigation, ma'am. And you don't know when the information will be released publicly. Are you waiting for the administration to sign off?

Cheatle: No, I am waiting for the results of the investigation.

You found explosives in the shooter's possession. Is that correct?

Cheatle: The FBI found explosives.

Burchett: Do we know who directed the young man to make those explosives?

Cheatle: I believe that the FBI is still looking into that.

Burchett: Ms. Cheatle, you said that 'the buck stops with me' and I agree. I don't think you should resign, I think she should have been fired. Ma'am, you are a DEI horror story. I've told my daughter multiple times ... how she's going to succeed in life. She's gonna succeed by achieving. Ma'am, you've let the public down. If it were up to me, you'd be gone.

Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Rep. Tim Burchett: Vice President Harris and Secret Service director are 'DEI hires'