WASHINGTON−Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas got into a heated exchange with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., after the lawmaker questioned antisemitic comments made by a DHS employee during the Israel-Hamas war.
During a hearing Tuesday, Hawley pointed to two Instagram posts shared by an employee of DHS Citizenship and Immigration Services, featuring rhetoric against Israel and a fake graphic of a paraglider flying into Israel with the caption “Free Palestine.”
When Hawley pressed Mayorkas on whether the employee has been fired, Mayorkas said the worker was put on administrative leave and refused to answer further questions, saying he can’t speak to about an ongoing personnel matter.
“You come here unwilling to answer and suggest that it is wrong of me to ask you the question,” Hawley said. “Quite frankly, Mr. Secretary, I think that your performance is despicable and I think the fact that you are not willing to provide answers to this committee is absolutely atrocious.”
Hawley’s comments spurred a passionate response from Mayorkas, who is Jewish.
“Number one: What I found despicable is the implication that this language, tremendously odious, actually could be emblematic of the sentiments of the 260,000 men and women of the Department of Homeland Security,” Mayorkas said.
“Number two: Senator Hawley takes an adversarial approach to me in this question, and perhaps he doesn’t know my own background. Perhaps he does not know that I am the child of a Holocaust survivor. Perhaps he does not know that my mother lost almost all her family at the hands of the Nazis. And so I find his adversarial tone to be entirely misplaced. I find it to be disrespectful of me and my heritage.”
The exchange came as a rise in antisemitic acts have been reported in the U.S. since militant group Hamas attacked Israel.
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'Disrespectful of me and my heritage': Mayorkas gets into heated exchange with Hawley - USA TODAY
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