KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Details continue to emerge about the alleged assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Republican Congressman Tim Burchett, representing Tennessee, said he is concerned about "the culture within the Secret Service."
It's a message he's been repeating since the first alleged assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania, in July. Kim Cheatle, then the Director of the Secret Service, faced bipartisan criticism after that incident. Several politicians demanded her resignation. Rep. Burchett declared his positions sharply.
He called her a "DEI horror story," implying she was only hired because of her gender.
The acronym means "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" — policies have been adopted by organizations across the U.S. to both address systemic racism and work towards social justice, ensuring that leaders are representative of the people they serve.
Rep. Burchett was criticized for the statement and briefly faced a censure effort, but he said his position remains the same after another apparent assassination attempt against Trump. He said he believes there are "cultural issues" within the Secret Service.
"If you go to the State Department, talk to people off the record, you talk to whistle-blowers, etc. — they will tell you there is really a hatred of our system," he said.
Burchett said he encourages people to join the Secret Service and other federal agencies. He said he believes the oath Secret Service agents take, which can demand extensive travel, potential danger and other hardships, is honorable.
But, he said he believes people lose their way during the transition from rank-and-file employee to leadership.
"It's in the military, as we've been briefed many times, by folks that are in the military or in other organizations like that," he said. "They either cap out or they conform to a line of thinking that's foreign to them."
He said he believes both Republicans and Democrats are part of what he calls the "Washington sewer." He described it as a web of cover-ups propelled by expanding budgets and entrenched stakeholders, hinting at conspiracy theories.
In a recent interview on the Benny Show, Burchett and host Benny Johnson discussed the history of the CIA's Cold War-era MK-Ultra program as an example of the power government agencies have to conceal information. The program is often cited among conspiracy theorists as demonstrating federal organizations' ability to hide information.
"Something is going on. I don't know who's doing it, but I don't trust anyone in these higher-up positions to tell us the truth," he said.
Jane George, the Democratic challenger for Burchett's seat in the House of Representatives, said she deplores any language or acts of political violence. At the same time, she said Burchett's focus on a single act of potential violence is misguided.
"I don't see the outrage over school shootings that's the equivalent, over someone who could have potentially done great harm to Donald Trump on his golf course, but he didn't. I mean, they were successful, they caught the guy," George said.
She said Routh's alleged actions make her think about issues like abortion rights, sustaining rural health care, and "common sense" gun policies.
She said she also disagrees with Rep. Burchett's criticisms of federal officials.
"I could not disagree with him more, " she said. "In terms of DEI, it just simply means that for the roles in government, that we consider folks that are absolutely qualified — making a clear decision to hire folks that represent what America looks like."