Official website of the Department of Homeland Security
Acting Secretary Chad F. Wolf released the following statement condemning Rep. Thompson’s misrepresentation of threats to the New York Times.
Good afternoon, Chairman Johnson, Ranking Member Peters, and other distinguished members of the committee. It is an honor to appear before you today as the President’s nominee to be the Secretary of Homeland Security. I’m grateful to the President for the faith and trust that he has placed in me to serve with the tremendous men and women of the Department, whose mission is now more important and crucial to the safety and security of our Homeland than ever before.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) refused DHS’s multiple offers to have a senior department official present at a hearing on worldwide threats.
The Department’s reasonable offer could fully satisfy the Committee’s legitimate information needs. However, the Committee rejected the Department’s offer and issued a subpoena seeking to compel the Acting Secretary’s appearance. That action is inconsistent with the Committee’s constitutional obligation to work in good faith to meet the Department’s legitimate interests.
As Acting Secretary Wolf said in his recent State of the Homeland remarks, “the Department of Homeland Security is bound by one mission, one creed. Answering the call, often times in the most arduous of environments and difficult of circumstances, to safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values from all threats, all the time—both today, tomorrow, and in the months and years to come.”
"Dear Chairman Thompson and Chairwoman Maloney: This responds to your letter of August 27, 2020, in which you ask that I review the matters referred to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in the August 14, 2020 decision issued by the GAO General Counsel."
On August 6th, Acting Secretary Chad Wolf will be testifying at the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
On Sunday, the 30-day notification period ended from when the Department of Homeland Security notified Congress of its intent to reprogram and transfer $271 million of available funds to support requirements via authority provided in the FY 2019 DHS Appropriations Act.
On June 12, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar wrote a joint letter to Congress urging the immediate passage of emergency supplemental funding, citing the current crisis at our southern border:
DHS correspondence with Members of Congress requested and released under the Freedom of Information Act.
