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Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, alongside other senior officials and agency leaders, have issued a joint statement firmly defending female Secret Service agents during the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Besides Mr. Mayorkas, the statement was endorsed by 10 other senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials, including Kimberly Cheatle, director of the U.S. Secret Service, who will appear Monday on Capitol Hill to answer questions about the assassination attempt.

The attempted assassination of former President Trump has raised questions about how 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to position himself on a rooftop with a clear line of sight to the former president, whose ear was injured by a bullet.

The shooting brought the Secret Service director’s stated interest in hiring more women into the spotlight.

An array of commentators, including some Republican lawmakers, focused explicitly on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies at the Secret Service, claiming that such programs have undermined its mission.

Ms. Boebert’s bill would prohibit “any federal funds from being used to pay the salary or expenses” of Ms. Cheatle.

Earlier in the week, the Secret Service’s chief of communication, Anthony Guglielmi, called out the “baseless assertions” that agents are unqualified.

The Saturday statement from Mr. Mayorkas and other top DHS officials appeared to focus most acutely on the line of criticism against women being on the front lines in the Secret Service.

Mr. Mayorkas and the other officials added that DHS will continue to recruit, retain, and elevate women in our law enforcement ranks and take “great pride” in doing so.

Former President Trump has thanked the agents who were at the rally and praised members of the security team.

The former president’s son, Eric Trump, went further, offering praise for the female agents in particular.

Besides injuring former President Trump, the gunman critically wounded two men and killed one.