FBI director, Homeland Security secretary refuse to publicly testify, Senate chairman says

Top members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee rebuked DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray for skipping an end-of-year public hearing on Thursday.

Committee Chairman Gary Peters said Mayorkas and Wray's refusal to appear is a "shocking departure" from the 15-year tradition of holding the annual hearing on worldwide threats. In a statement to Fox News Digital, the FBI argued that Wray and other officials have already "testified extensively" in public about threats facing the U.S., and that the bureau "has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to responding to Congressional oversight and being transparent with the American people."

"FBI leaders…believe the Committee would benefit most from further substantive discussions and additional information that can only be provided in a classified setting," the FBI said in a statement.

A DHS spokesperson offered a similar explanation when contacted by Fox Digital, noting that the DHS would prefer a classified briefing saying saying Mayorkas has "testified 30 times during his tenure."

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Peters rejected that explanation in a public statement, however, arguing that the lack of a public hearing "robs the American people of critical information."

"Americans deserve transparent, public answers about the threats we face. 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. Their claims that they can only relay such information and respond to questions in a classified setting are entirely without merit," Peters wrote.

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the ranking member of the committee, also bashed the officials, saying their refusal to testify publicly was "unacceptable."

The postponed Senate hearing came just one day after a similar hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee was pushed back on Wednesday. Mayorkas and Wray were both scheduled to testify in that hearing as well.

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Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., who chairs the House committee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.

A source with the House Homeland Security Committee told Fox Digital that the committee had been planning a classified hearing "since early last week." Those plans fell through, however, and Wednesday's public hearing was tentatively scheduled instead.

"A few days ago, after further negotiation, we came to an agreement to postpone until December and to hold the hearing in a classified setting then," the source said.

The pair of hearings would have been the first time Mayorkas and Wray have appeared before the House and Senate since President-elect Trump won re-election earlier this month.

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Trump has vowed to push extensive changes at both the DHS and the FBI.