Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07), who is chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, delivered opening remarks Wednesday during the committee’s hearing to “examine global threats to the U.S. homeland and our security interests abroad.”
The hearing entitled, “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland” featured testimony from the following three witnesses:
- Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS);
- Christopher Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and
- Christine Abizaid, director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
Green began his opening statement by acknowledging that the U.S.’s threats and security challenges are “becoming more dynamic each day,” adding, “I do not say this lightly; this is one of the most dangerous times in the history of the United States.”
The Tennessee congressman listed “some of the greatest threats” currently facing the nation, including “an open and lawless Southwest border,” the “rising threat of terrorism; rogue nation-state actors and criminal elements seeking to do us harm,” and “efforts by foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party to target our critical infrastructure.”
“Of course, we also have the wars in Israel and Ukraine, and rising Chinese aggression in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea,” Green added.
Green said the U.S. “must take a clear-eyed and holistic look at these threats” to overcome them.
The committee’s chairman then pivoted focus on the nation’s border crisis, acknowledging the record number of border crossings and rampant cartel activity under Mayorkas’ watch.
“The failure of this administration’s border policies has created a humanitarian and national security crisis as transnational criminal organizations prey on vulnerable migrants and sneak across violent felons and individuals on the terrorist watchlist,” Green added before noting, “And yet, Secretary Mayorkas has continued to mislead Congress and the American people.”
Green then pivoted to acknowledge that “malicious activity by nation-state actors and terrorism poses a direct threat to the U.S. homeland.”
“Without question, the homeland is less safe under President Biden,” Green said. “The catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal two years ago signaled weakness and a lack of leadership to the world. Our nation’s adversaries have been emboldened to attack our allies and our friends and are undermining our security here at home. Significant threats to our cities and local communities are only growing.”
Green then acknowledged the “historic” rise of cyberattacks, antisemitism, and threats against communities of faith in the U.S. before pivoting focus on the threats posed by China.
“Through its relentless espionage, the CCP is stealing U.S. intellectual property, trade secrets, and other sensitive data of Americans and American companies,” Green said, describing China as a “regime that continues to challenge the U.S. economically, technologically, diplomatically, and militarily.”
Green acknowledged steps the committee has taken to investigate and combat threats posed to the homeland; however, he called out the DHS and FBI for their “constant delays and lack of responsiveness,” which Green said has become an “unacceptable pattern.”
“Make no mistake, we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to secure these answers – for the American people,” Green said.
Wednesday’s hearing follows last month’s full Committee hearing, which focused on the threats posed by the Iranian regime to U.S. homeland security in the wake of the terrorist group Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 that left around 1,200 people dead.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
