Garbarino to preside over showdown as his committee grills Homeland Security Secretary Noem

WASHINGTON – When Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem undergoes a grilling Thursday by angry lawmakers who’ve waited months for the chance, it’ll be Long Island Rep. Andrew Garbarino holding the gavel and trying to keep order.

The high-profile hearing at the U.S. Capitol is a first big coming out for Garbarino into the national spotlight since becoming chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security in July. He has not previously held a full committee hearing with Trump administration officials as witnesses – much less ones surrounded by so much controversy.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the committee’s top Democrat, says he is confident that Garbarino (R-Bayport) will not maneuver as a shield for Noem or the administration, or try to impede efforts by Democrats to press her on questions.

“It’s a time for her to give an accounting of herself before the committee,” Thompson said, casting Garbarino as someone who understands this, and the importance of the Homeland Security committee’s oversight responsibilities

But Thompson says the potential for contentious moments is real, and, “A lot depends on how the secretary herself sees her role before the committee."

Noem did appear before the committee earlier this year, in May, but has not since engaged much with or responded to Democratic lawmakers, in letters, by telephone, or other ways. This could be the only shot at getting answers, Thompson said.

Areas of tension

Partisan nerves are raw over a range of issues tied to Noem, the former South Dakota governor and U.S. House member.

Those go beyond her handling of the president’s deportation agenda and masked ICE agents and immigration raids on mostly Democratic-run cities. Other issues include the situation at the nation’s emergency management agency, Noem’s purchase of two Gulfstream jets with taxpayer money and reports of the Trump administration's border czar, Tom Homan, being recorded last year accepting $50,000 in a bag from undercover FBI agents.

Homan has said he did nothing illegal and Trump’s Justice Department ultimately dropped the matter, but there's been little public explanation of what occurred.

Garbarino said in a statement that the hearing will be "an important opportunity for members to examine the heightened threat landscape and ensure our executive branch partners have the resources and tools they need to protect the homeland."

But some Democrats – including those on the committee who will be questioning Noem -- have been calling for her to resign. Several were doing so even before recent reports that dissatisfaction within the White House may be signaling she’ll soon be ousted -- reports that officials there have denied.

“We have been surveilled, threatened, tear gassed, hit with pepper balls, subjected to warrantless arrest and precision immobilization technique maneuvers, kidnapped, and disappeared,” wrote Homeland committee member Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) in a Dec. 3 letter to Noem, calling for her resignation. “In Chicago, DHS has become the single greatest threat to public safety."

Thompson said he’s heard the same sorts of angry talk from other lawmakers from Los Angeles, Charlotte and now, New Orleans.

Recently adding to these controversies around Noem is a ProPublica report last month that a consulting firm with close ties to her secretly received funds from a $220 million Department of Homeland Security ad campaign in an undisclosed subcontracting arrangement. That has prompted demands by committee Democrats for documents, and other resignation calls.

“Kristi Noem is a corrupt disgrace. Resign,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) posted on the social media site X, in response.

Hearing's focus

Technically, the hearing on Thursday is on the topic “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland,” rescheduled from one postponed on Oct. 8 during the government shutdown.

Joining Noem as hearing witnesses will be Joseph Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and Michael Glasheen, operations director, national security branch, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. But FBI Director Kash Patel – listed as a witness for the initially scheduled Oct. 8 hearing – will not be attending Thursday.

Thompson characterized Noem as the main witness, and the others as “fillers.” As of Tuesday night, their prepared opening statements had not yet been posted on the committee’s website.

Ross Baker, a Rutgers University political scientist, notes that Garbarino has been serving as a committee member and almost certainly been briefed by professional staffers on the mechanics of holding a hearing, especially a high-profile one.

In the end, Baker suggests, “It may even be an empowering experience. Someone with a gavel does not grovel.”