Ranking Member Thompson Demands Hearing on Increased Threats to the Homeland 25 Years After 9/11
“The homeland security enterprise has been in a state of upheaval under Trump.”
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) requesting a hearing on increased threats to the homeland with leaders from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). The Committee has not held a hearing on increased threats since last year – before President Trump’s Iran War began. It is the Committee’s longstanding practice to hold such a hearing yearly – yet no hearing is scheduled or planned.
“The fact is, Trump is siphoning resources away from detecting and addressing novel threats and preparing communities across the country to respond to them in favor of shock and awe tactics aimed at impressing his base, intimidating his critics, and boosting his ego. Unfortunately, homeland security does not appear to be a consideration,” Ranking Member Thompson wrote.
The letter outlines the myriad ways that Trump and his administration have weakened our national security by obsessing over executing violent and draconian immigration operations, stifling dissent, building records on Americans, and exacting retribution on his political foes. The Committee has conducted no substantive oversight of these issues. These issues include, but are not limited to:
- Ignoring the threat Iran poses to cyberspace and our critical infrastructure.
- Illegally withholding counterterrorism grants to blue states.
- Diverting ODNI and DOJ resources to push election denialism.
- Pushing DHS to build an illegal and inaccurate voter roll vetting database.
- Mismanaging DHS by appointing corrupt and inexperienced leaders such as Kristi Noem and Markwayne Mullin.
- Mismanaging DOJ by appointing his personal lawyer as Attorney General.
- Appointing inexperienced loyalist Bill Pulte as Acting DNI.
- Making constant national security leadership changes with the only requirement for serving being blind loyalty to Trump rather than allegiance to the Constitution.
- Diminishing the homeland security, intelligence, and cybersecurity workforces by firing or forcing out thousands.
- Ignoring the potential threat of AI models and quantum computing.
“As leaders of this Committee, we owe it to the Americans who perished during the 9/11 attacks to ensure the administration is focused on the most pressing threats facing the Nation so that, together, we can help defend the homeland against them,” Ranking Member Thompson added.
# # #
Previous Article