Based on what was included in the article, it sounds like they’ve noticed that the female Secret Service agents have been criticized as “DEI hires”, so they’re thinking that if the agency goes back to hiring based on qualifications and merit, the female agents won’t be criticized or derided as much.
OK I see. Apparently the DEI hiring process is such that a male applicant with several degrees in administration of justice, a blackbelt in akido and holder of both rifle and pistol expert qualification badges would be passed over in favor of a female applicant whose qualifications include having “been to a laundromat a few times” and “knows all the words to Vanessa Carlton’s 2002 hit single A Thousand Miles”.
Well I’m not in favor of that but in the case where both male and female applicants are equally qualified, it makes more sense to hire the woman because you can pay them less.