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The Honorable Kristi Noem
Committee on Homeland Security will come to order. Chair made it clear, committee in recess at any point. I would also like to welcome the newest member of the committee, Mr. Matt Van Epps. Happy to have you here. You all can sit down for now, please. The purpose of today's hearing is to better understand the worldwide threats facing us today. Under the rules of the House, the chairman is responsible for maintaining order and preserving decorum in the committee room. I expect audience members to be respectful of witnesses, members, and the public. The issues we are debating are important ones that members feel deeply about. While vigorous disagreement is part of the legislative process, members are reminded that we must adhere to established standards of decorum in debate. It is a violation of House rules and the rules of this committee to engage in personalities regarding other members or to question the motives of a colleague. It is also a clear violation of the rules of the House to make statements that might be personally offensive to the President or the Vice President of the United States. Remarks of that type are not permitted by the rules and are not in keeping with the best traditions of our committee. The Chair will enforce these rules of decorum at all times and urge all members to be mindful of their remarks. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Good morning. Welcome to the Committee on Homeland Security's Annual Hearing on Worldwide Threats. Our witnesses today are Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Operations Director Michael Glashine. I appreciate your willingness to testify and address the threats America face every day at home and abroad. I want to recognize that this is an annual hearing and one the committee expects to hold in September 2026, surrounding the 25th anniversary of September 11th terrorist attacks.
This year, we made numerous accommodations considering the record-long Democrat shutdown and your busy schedules. But we expect 2026 to include the Homeland Security Secretary, the NCTC Director, and as in the past, the Director of the FBI. The Department of Homeland Security and this committee were created following the attacks on September 11th and bestowed with the responsibility to secure the homeland from threats and keep Americans safe. The work your agencies do each day furthers that mission, and this committee will always be a strong partner in those efforts. I want to commend all three of you. The border is secure, the flow of drugs is slowing, and violent criminals are being taken off the streets. America is once again a symbol of global strength. However, I'm sure you'll agree it is not time to take a break. It is time for action. We cannot succeed in our collective Homeland Security mission without working together, collaborating, and striving for better. The threats we face are persistent and ever-changing. The days of strictly kinetic strikes are over. The battlefield is not the same as it was on the Western Front in 1914, the Pacific Theater in 1941, and not even the Middle East in 2000s. In 2025, We fight our adversaries in cyberspace. We counter radicalization on the internet and in chat rooms. We resist communist China propaganda. We prepare for new found biological threats and we combat the flow of transnational criminals across our borders. This is why this hearing is so important. Congress must hear from the executive. Oversight is not unfair and asking questions is not a warranted. We must ensure the people's representatives are informed. In less than one year, the Trump administration has delivered historic results in securing our borders and dismantling transnational criminal networks. The commitment to restoring and maintaining a state of law and order has resulted in illegal border crossings falling to their lowest level in decades. Compared to last year, nationwide border encounters have plummeted nearly 80%.
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