Assessing the Contentious Hearing on the Secret Service

Kimberly A. Cheatle, the Secret Service director, faced grueling questions from lawmakers on Monday about the adequacy of her agency’s preparation and response to the assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump this month.

Ms. Cheatle did not directly respond to many of the lawmakers’ questions. But during her testimony, she rebuffed queries related to the service’s efforts to recruit more women, the actions of a previous director who oversaw the agency during an assassination attempt and a comparison between staffing for Mr. Trump’s event and one held on the same day by the first lady, Jill Biden.

While some information about the attempt and the law enforcement response remains unknown, here is the context behind some of the exchanges.

Representative Glenn Grothman, Republican of Wisconsin: “Could you elaborate why you want one-third of the Secret Service to be women?”

Ms. Cheatle: “I’ve never stated that I want one-third of the Secret Service to be women.”

Mr. Grothman is most likely referring to comments made by Ms. Cheatle in 2023.

“I’m very conscious as I sit in this chair now, of making sure that we need to attract diverse candidates and ensure that we are developing and giving opportunities to everybody in our workforce, and particularly women,” Ms. Cheatle said in a May 2023 interview with CBS.