The Biden administration and House Oversight Committee Republicans have struck a deal in a fight over allowing Border Patrol agents to testify before Congress in a series of hearings examining the state of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The committee announced Tuesday evening that one of the four field agents it had requested testify before the panel next week had been cleared, as well as another agent from the field who had not been on the initial list.
“Next week, we will hear firsthand from the Border Patrol about this humanitarian and national security crisis,” Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said in a statement. “Oversight Republicans are committed to holding the Biden Administration accountable for its dereliction of duty and look forward to hearing testimony from those on the ground battling this crisis.”
Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Gloria Chavez and Tucson Sector Chief John Modlin will appear before the committee on Tuesday morning.
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The resolution follows a public dust-up between Comer and the Biden administration.
Last week, Comer accused Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of going against the White House’s promise of “transparency” for rejecting the committee’s request to let federal law enforcement employees testify about the border crisis.
Comer set a hearing for Feb. 7 and summoned Border Patrol Sector Chiefs Chavez; Jason Owens of Del Rio, Texas; Gregory Bovino of El Centro, California; and acting Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel of Yuma, Arizona.
The agents would speak about their experiences working through the coronavirus pandemic and the most challenging period in the agency’s 98 years as more people have tried to enter the country illegally than ever before.
The Department of Homeland Security had informed Comer on Jan. 26 that the national chief of the Border Patrol would be available to testify publicly in the hearing and the four other agents could speak with lawmakers in a private briefing.
“As we relayed to your staff in discussions last week, Department protocol has long dictated that an agency or significant component head should be provided with the priority option to appear before Congress in matters that the component or agency oversees,” states the letter to Comer from Bryn McDonough, acting DHS assistant secretary for legislative affairs.
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee will commence this week the first of its own series of hearings on the border crisis on Wednesday.
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The judiciary body’s decision to focus first on the state of the U.S.-Mexico border is especially significant given the GOP’s calls to impeach Mayorkas. The Judiciary Committee is the final committee that impeachment articles must be approved through before going to the House floor.