On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas responded to a question on the safety of the homeland 22 years after September 11 and criticism from Republicans about the national security threat of the border by stating that we face different threats than we did in 2001, and these include “The threat of adverse nation-states spreading disinformation and trying to sow discord in the United States was not something atop of mind, the frequency and gravity of extreme weather events.”
Co-host and POLITICO White House Bureau Chief Jonathan Lemire asked, “[I]t is more than two decades since those terror attacks, and a question that looms for all Americans is, are we safer today than we were then? Could you walk us through the efforts that this administration is taking to prevent an attack like this again, particularly, at a time when, as you know, members of the other party, Republicans, are very critical of the Biden administration’s border policies, including the possibility that some people with ill intent could get over the border?”
Mayorkas answered, “The threats to the homeland have evolved significantly over the past 20 years. 20 years ago, 22 years ago, we were not thinking about the threat of cybersecurity, where geography is irrelevant, where somebody from across the world can press a keyboard and do so much damage to our critical infrastructure. The threat of adverse nation-states spreading disinformation and trying to sow discord in the United States was not something atop of mind, the frequency and gravity of extreme weather events. Our Department of Homeland Security, our federal government, working with our state, local, tribal, territorial partners, has grown so significantly in our partnerships, in our capabilities. We certainly are more secure today than we were 22 years ago.”
Later, Mayorkas added, “The threat of the domestic violent extremist is the most prominent terrorism-related threat that we face in the homeland now.”
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