Republicans Pound Mayorkas, Wray During Tense Senate Hearing

Senators demand, but don’t get many answers on federal officials censoring social media and dealing with terrorists crossing the border from Mexico

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington on Oct. 31, 2023. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Both Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray knew to expect tough questions from Republicans during Tuesday’s Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs hearing on terrorism threats, but the FBI head likely didn’t expect the opening lecture he got from Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the committee chairman.

“I want to start off today’s hearing with a little bit of housekeeping for our witnesses here, and I want to remind our witnesses of your responsibility to respond to inquiries and requests from Congress. The oversight responsibilities we have here in Congress are a core facet of our democracy, and executive branch officials must be responsive to requests from members of this committee,” Mr. Peters began.