Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christoper Wray declined to testify publicly at a Senate committee hearing Thursday on threats to the nation, drawing a rare bipartisan rebuke from members who had to cancel it at the last minute.
It was the second scuttled congressional hearing in as many days for Mayorkas and Wray, whose agencies said they offered to answer questions in detail in a classified briefing. The House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday postponed their threats hearing — after it had been scheduled to start — and instead planned a classified version next month.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., pulled no punches in condemning the high-ranking officials — even though one is a Cabinet appointee in a Democratic administration — for a “shocking departure” from the tradition of public testimony at the annual hearing.
“Their choice to not provide public testimony about their departments’ efforts to address wide-ranging national security threats robs the American people of critical information and the opportunity for public accountability of what the federal government is doing to keep Americans safe,” Peters said. “Americans deserve transparent, public answers about the threats we face.”
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the top Republican on the panel, called it “unacceptable” that they didn’t testify publicly. “The American people deserve to hold these officials accountable for their actions under the Biden administration,” Paul said.
It was the first time in more than 15 years that the secretary of Homeland Security and the FBI director have refused to appear before the Homeland Security committee for the threats hearing, Peters said.
The likely issues members wanted to hear about include Russia continuing its efforts with election interference, which now includes evidence of bomb threats to polling places in Georgia during the 2024 election, as well as reports of certain Federal Emergency Management Agency officials who were on the ground during relief efforts for Hurricane Helene and refused to go to the homes of those with Trump campaign signs.
Also, questions swirl over whether President-elect Donald Trump will upon taking office seek to fire the FBI director, who will be in the middle of his 10-year term at the start of new administration, and the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts on immigration and security at the U.S-Mexico border.
“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,” Peters said.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an email that “DHS and the FBI have offered to the Committee a classified briefing to discuss the threats to the Homeland in detail, providing the Committee with the information it needs to conduct its work in the months ahead.”
“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,” the spokesperson said. “DHS takes seriously its obligation to respond to Congressional requests for testimony; in fact, Secretary Mayorkas has testified 30 times during his tenure.”
The FBI in an email statement said the agency remains “committed to sharing information. 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,” the FBI statement said.
But those explanations weren’t enough to stop criticism from members of the Senate panel on both sides of the aisle.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., posted on social media late Wednesday that he heard Wray and Mayorkas were trying to cancel the hearing “and testify only behind closed doors.”
After the duo canceled, Hawley posted that he looked forward “to Director Wray’s resignation.”
“This is Mayorkas & Wray giving the middle finger to the American people,” Hawley wrote. “They are REQUIRED BY LAW to testify. And now they’re saying it’s good enough to post something on a website? Both are unfit for office. The Senate should subpoena them immediately and hold them in contempt.”
The cancellation in the House resulted in much more muted response from lawmakers. Neither Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, chair of the Homeland Security Committee, nor Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the committee’s top Democrat, issued public statements.
On Thursday, a House majority committee spokesperson said negotiations had been ongoing with Wray and Mayorkas.
“Since early last week, our Committee had been working with the departments on setting up a classified Worldwide Threats hearing — something both the Committee majority members and DHS/FBI expressed they wanted,” the spokesperson said. “Logistically, that proved unfeasible in the timeframe we were working with, so we were planning to hold a public hearing. However, a few days ago, after further negotiation, we came to an agreement to postpone until December and to hold the hearing in a classified setting then.”
This report was corrected to accurately reflect the length of the FBI director’s term.
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