The U.S. Secret Service is facing fresh scrutiny after a former agent assigned to protect Vice President Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, was revealed to have repeatedly failed her physical fitness tests while simultaneously moonlighting as a plus-size model and influencer.
According to RealClearPolitics, the agent’s modeling work included a magazine photo shoot titled “Undercover, But Never Underdressed”, in which she hinted at her secretive federal role — despite her inability to meet the agency’s baseline physical requirements.
This revelation isn’t just eyebrow-raising — it points to what many are calling a troubling culture shift during the tenure of former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned earlier this year after the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.
Under Cheatle’s leadership, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives took center stage, including the creation of internal chat rooms for minority agents to discuss “workplace struggles.” While the intentions may have been noble, the consequences are now being seriously questioned.
Sources within the Secret Service community told RealClearPolitics that the agent in question failed to pass her physical fitness exam multiple times, but was retained and reassigned rather than removed. She was later moved into the Special Services Division, where she now handles mail screening and armored vehicle maintenance — tasks that, while important, do not require the same physical readiness as a protection detail. Still, the optics are damning.
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
Critics argue that this is emblematic of a broader prioritization of optics and ideology over operational readiness. While Cheatle boasted that 24% of agents and officers were women by the end of her tenure, her leadership is now being criticized for focusing too heavily on demographic benchmarks instead of professional standards.
The issue has landed squarely in the political spotlight. Speaker Mike Johnson didn’t mince words following Cheatle’s resignation, calling it “overdue” and declaring that it’s time to “rebuild the American people’s faith and trust in the Secret Service.” That trust, long rooted in the agency’s image of elite, unimpeachable competence, has taken a hit — not just because of one failed agent, but because of the leadership choices that allowed it to happen.
In response, the Secret Service’s new leadership under Director Curran is trying to reset the tone. In a statement, agency spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi emphasized that all DEI programs tied to the January 20, 2025 executive order were discontinued within 60 days, and that promotions and assignments moving forward will be “merit-based — the right person, for the right position, at the right time.”
