DHS secretary, FBI director skip Senate Homeland Security hearing for the first time in 15 years

This is the first time in 15 years that both heads have not attended the annual hearing, according to the committee's chairman, Rep. Gary Peters, D-Mich.

By Charlotte Hazard

Published: November 21, 2024 2:37pm

Updated: November 21, 2024 2:38pm

FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas didn't show up or offer testimony at an annual Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing that took place Thursday.

Their absence marked the first time in 15 years that both heads have not attended the annual hearing, according to the committee's chairman, Rep. Gary Peters, D-Mich.

"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 in a statement posted on the social media platform X.

An FBI spokesperson said that both individuals have already testified multiple times and "believed the Committee would benefit most from further substantive discussions and additional information that can only be provided in a classified setting," according to Axios.

The spokesperson argued that the DHS and the FBI have already shared a lot of "unclassified information" with the public.