WASHINGTON – An annual Senate committee hearing on threats to the nation has been postponed after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray “refused” to participate, the Democratic chair of the panel said Thursday. 

What You Need To Know

  • An annual Senate committee hearing on threats to the nation has been postponed after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray “refused” to participate, the Democratic chair of the panel said on Thursday
  • He noted that their absence marks the first time in 15 years that the Homeland Security Secretary and the FBI Director have not participated in the annual hearing
  • The annual hearing on worldwide threats to the homeland was set to take place on Thursday but is now “postponed to a date to be determined,” Peters’ statement notes; A House hearing scheduled for Wednesday this week on the same topic that was also set to feature testimony from Mayorkas and Wray has similarly been postponed
  • The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Spectrum News

In a statement, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., sharply condemned the two leaders for declining to testify publicly, calling it a “shocking departure from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s longstanding tradition of transparency and oversight of the threats facing our nation.”

“Americans deserve transparent, public answers about the threats we face,” Peters’ statement reads. “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 noted that their absence marks the first time in 15 years that the Homeland Security secretary and the FBI director have not participated in the annual hearing, which started after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security itself in 2002. The pair appeared together in front of the Senate panel last year on Oct. 31. 

The annual hearing on worldwide threats to the homeland was set to take place Thursday but is now “postponed to a date to be determined,” Peters’ statement notes. A House hearing scheduled for Wednesday this week on the same topic that was also set to feature testimony from Mayorkas and Wray has similarly been postponed. 

The Department of Homeland Security and FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Spectrum News on the postponement of the hearings, but Peters indicated that the two department leaders were willing to speak only behind closed doors. 

“Their claims that they can only relay such information and respond to questions in a classified setting are entirely without merit,” the Michigan senator wrote.