Senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are pushing back against “statements questioning the presence of women in law enforcement,” particularly female Secret Service agents, in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“These allegations are baseless and insulting,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, senior deputy Homeland Security official Kristie Canegallo and the leaders of DHS agencies and offices with law enforcement responsibilities said in a joint statement released Saturday.

“Every day, in communities large and small across our great country, women serve in federal, state, local, tribal, territorial and campus law enforcement,” they continued. “They are highly trained and skilled professionals, 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.”

“We at the U.S. 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,” DHS leadership added. “Our Department will be better for it, and our country will be safer for it.”

The Secret Service has come under heavy criticism for its failure to prevent Trump from being shot at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. Many Republican lawmakers have called for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. She was nominated by President Biden to lead the Secret Service in 2022, making her only the second woman to ever lead the agency.

Prior to this role, Cheatle was senior director of global security at PepsiCo, where she was responsible for directing and implementing security protocols for the company’s facilities across North America. Critics have accused Cheatle of prioritizing “woke” ideologies rooted in DEI instead of focusing solely on hiring the best people for the agency. During her time with the Secret Service, Cheatle emphasized the importance of increasing diversity within the Secret Service.

Hannah Grossman of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.