Mayorkas and Wray Refuse to Testify Publicly About National Security Threats Facing US By Debra Heine
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray decided to skip an end-of-year public hearing in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, suggesting that the threats facing the country are so grave they can only be discussed in a classified setting.
Republicans and Democrats alike reacted with outrage.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters (D-Mich.) strongly rebuked the officials, stating that their refusal to appear is a “shocking departure” from the 15-year tradition of holding the annual hearing on worldwide threats.
Both the FBI and DHS released statements saying the officials had already “testified extensively” in public about the threats facing the U.S. and offered to discuss further threats in a classified briefing.
The FBI has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to responding to Congressional oversight and being transparent with the American people,” the FBI’s statement said.
“We remain committed to sharing information about the continuously evolving threat environment facing our nation and the extraordinary work the men and women of the FBI are doing — here at home and around the world — to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States. FBI leaders have testified extensively in public settings about the current threat environment and believe the Committee would benefit most from further substantive discussions and additional information that can only be provided in a classified setting.”
A spokesperson for DHS also said Mayorkas would discuss threats in a classified briefing.
“DHS and the FBI already have shared with the Committee and other Committees, and with the American public, extensive unclassified information about the current threat environment, including the recently published Homeland Threat Assessment. DHS takes seriously its obligation to respond to Congressional requests for testimony; in fact, Secretary Mayorkas has testified 30 times during his tenure,” the spokesperson said.
Peters shot down the explanations, arguing that their refusal to appear at a public hearing “robs the American people of critical information.”
“Americans deserve transparent, public answers about the threats we face. Secretary Mayorkas and Director Wray’s refusal to speak publicly about their department’s work will only increase the concerns that many Americans have about our nation’s security at a challenging time, flout the Committee’s efforts to conduct responsible oversight, and will deal a serious blow to trust in our government. Their claims that they can only relay such information and respond to questions in a classified setting are entirely without merit,” Peters wrote in a public statement.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) the ranking member of the committee, said in a statement that their refusal to testify publicly was “unacceptable.”
“It is unacceptable that FBI Director Wray and DHS Sec. Mayorkas are refusing to testify publicly at our annual hearing on threats to the homeland,” Paul said in a statement. “The American people deserve to hold these officials accountable for their actions under the Biden Administration.”
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) also criticized the officials in an interview on Fox News, saying that the only reason given was that the officials did not want to offer the testimony in public.
In a post on X, Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) argued that if “the threats facing America are so grave they can only be discussed in a classified setting,” Mayorkas and Wray “need to acknowledge that the Biden-Harris administration is responsible for these grave dangers because of their open border policies.”
Senator Josh Hawley also blasted Mayorkas and Wray on X, saying their refusal to testify publicly was an “outrage” and “a brazen attempt to avoid oversight for the political abuses at FEMA, the FBI and more.”
Hawley added: “I look forward to Director Wray’s resignation.”
The pair also skipped a similar hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday. Both hearings would have been the first time Mayorkas and Wray had faced the House and Senate since President-elect Trump won re-election with a mandate to make extensive changes at their agencies.
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