Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing to consider the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget. The hearing will take place at the Capitol on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.

Senior security officials defended the position of women within the US Secret Service in a statement on Saturday, following the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

“In the days following the attempted assassination of former President Trump, some people have made public statements questioning the presence of women in law enforcement, including the U.S. Secret Service,” said the statement from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, along with other U.S. security officials.

“These claims are baseless and offensive,” the statement said.

The Secret Service has come under increasing fire following the attempted assassination of Trump over the weekend, with some questioning how the shooter gained access to a rooftop where he had a clear view of the former president.

“Every day, in communities large and small across our great country, women serve in federal, state, local, tribal, territorial and campus law enforcement,” the statement said. “They are highly trained and skilled professionals who risk their lives on the front lines for the safety and security of others. They are brave and selfless patriots who deserve our gratitude and respect.”

“We at the Department of Homeland Security — the federal government’s largest law enforcement agency — will continue to recruit, retain, and elevate women in our law enforcement ranks with great pride, focus, and dedication to our mission. Our Department will be better for it and our country safer for it,” the statement continued.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, one of the people behind Saturday’s statement, has come under fire herself in the wake of the shooting, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) calling on her to resign on Wednesday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also called for new leadership at the Secret Service on Wednesday.

“Last week’s near-assassination of former President Trump was a grave attack on American democracy,” McConnell said in a post on social media platform X. “The nation deserves answers and accountability. New leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction.”