US homeland chief hits back at attacks on women Secret Service agents

WASHINGTON: The US homeland security chief hit back Saturday at misogynistic attacks on the women Secret Service agents who threw themselves into the line of fire to protect Donald Trump from a would-be assassin.

“These assertions are baseless and insulting,” Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement after some on the US political right accused the Secret Service of “woke” hiring practices they say nearly had the former president killed.

Mayorkas praised the “highly skilled and trained” women serving in law enforcement across the country for risking “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,” he wrote. The Department of Homeland Security will “with great pride... continue to recruit, retain and elevate women in our law enforcement ranks,” he continued.

It has been one week since a gunman opened fire during a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, killing one bystander, wounding two others and leaving the Republican bloodied but alive. Several women were seen among the Secret Service agents racing to shield Trump with their bodies as the gunshots ring out.

But they, along with their boss Kimberly Cheatle -- only the second woman director of the federal agency tasked with protecting presidents current, former and would-be -- are now caught in the intense scrutiny over the nearly catastrophic attack. “There should not be any women in the Secret Service.