Secret Service needs more women, two lawmakers argue
A member of the US Secret Service Uniformed Division stands his post as President Obama departs the White House on Wednesday in Washington.
Two Congressional members are questioning whether the recent Secret Service scandal in Colombia could have been avoided if the agency had more women.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, has been at the forefront of calling for further investigations, CNN reported.
“I can't help but wonder if there'd been more women as part of that detail, if this ever would have happened,” Collins said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Secret Service members allegedly brought back several prostitutes to a hotel in Cartagena, Colombia, while part of the advance team for President Barack Obama's recent trip.
On the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York said addressed the issue with Secret Service director Mark Sullivan.
He said only 11% of agents are women, said Maloney.
“I can't help but keep asking this question, where are the women? We probably need to diversify the Secret Service and have more minorities and more women,” Maloney said, wrote CNN.
So far, the agency says 12 of its members have been implicated in the incident.
Senate Homeland Security Committee will widen its investigation this week into the scandal.
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