Kevin McAleenan notified Congress that he plans to blow off his upcoming House testimony hearing despite a subpoena from the chamber’s Homeland Security Committee.
In mid-October, President Trump announced McAleenan would be leaving his post as acting Homeland Security secretary at the end of the month.
Despite his planned exit, Chairman Bennie Thompson subpoenaed McAleenan to testify next Wednesday about whether vacancies in the department pose a national security threat to the country.
In a letter addressed to Thompson, McAleenan claimed he needs to focus on his transition out of the department in his last week rather than testifying before the committee.
“We respect your oversight needs regarding worldwide threats, but it is also important that you respect the Department’s need that I devote my final week as Acting Secretary to ensuring an effective transition in the leadership of the Department,” he wrote.
Acting DHS Sec McAleenan is so far refusing to comply with House Homeland Security Subpoena to appear the day before he steps aside next week. Senior DHS source says timing is “nakedly political.” @NBCNews @MSNBC Letter attached: pic.twitter.com/FnSk71gFUa
— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) October 25, 2019
He noted that he was “surprised” and “disappointed” that the committee made this request in his last week, later adding, “Given my impending departure, I am unavailable to testify on October 30.”
The department offered to have Undersecretary for Homeland Security David Glawe testify in McAleenan’s place, according to the Hill.
In his subpoena of McAleenan, Thompson wrote, “I am concerned that turmoil within the White House and vacancies at the highest levels of the Department of Homeland Security are undermining our ability to respond to terrorist threats.”
He later added, “It is inexcusable that the people charged with keeping the country safe from terrorism are refusing to show up to testify before Congress and speak to the American people about what they are doing to secure the homeland.”
McAleenan is the latest Trump administration official to ignore a congressional subpoena. White House counsel Don McGahn and presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway have both defied House subpoenas in recent months.
