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Sen. Peters presses nominee on DHS funding, management and readiness
Summary
Sen. Peters opened the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs confirmation hearing for the DHS nominee, warning of funding gaps, personnel and cybersecurity shortfalls, and saying she has reservations about the nominee's readiness and potential conflicts of interest while seeking substantive answers.
Sen. Peters opened the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs confirmation hearing for the nominee to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, congratulated the nominee and welcomed his family, and said she appreciated his willingness to appear before the committee.
Peters said the department faces "challenging operational dynamics" and that many components within DHS were "currently operating without funding." She urged Congress to fund TSA, FEMA, cybersecurity and the Coast Guard even as lawmakers negotiate ICE reforms, saying "If Republicans really do agree with us that TSA and other personnel need to be paid, they should join us and pass the bills to pay them today." Peters said administrative fixes were insufficient and pressed for statutory reforms.
She criticized recent management decisions she said began with the Trump administration, asserting those decisions removed or reassigned key counterterrorism and cybersecurity personnel and cut budgets. Peters said those moves have weakened the department's core missions and "broken trust between law enforcement and the communities they are intended to protect." She cited a recent cyberattack on a medical device manufacturer and a violent attack at Temple Israel in metro Detroit as evidence of rising threats.
On the nominee's qualifications, Peters said temperament, judgment and experience matter for the role. She said the secretary's role is to lead responses and reassure the department, not to act as a "cable news commentator," and warned that leaders who "jump to conclusions without the facts" can worsen crises. Peters said she had reservations about the nominee's readiness and asked for "substantive answers" and "a candid recognition of where this administration has fallen short on homeland security." She also said the committee needs a secretary "free from distractions and conflicts of interest that only undercut the department's work and break trust with the American people."
The hearing proceeded to questioning of the nominee following these opening remarks.
