Disinformation push shows DHS ‘politicizing’ itself, say top Homeland Security Republicans

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The leading Republican lawmakers on the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees are criticizing the Department of Homeland Security for further "politicizing" itself in the name of dispelling "disinformation."

The rebuke from Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., comes after an investigative report published leaked DHS documents detailing how the agency is still working with Big Tech to combat disinformation on social media on a variety of topics.

The documents, first reported by The Intercept Monday, revealed that while DHS disbanded its controversial "Disinformation Governance Board" this year, the agency is still working to combat misinformation on a range of topics including COVID-19, vaccines, racial issues, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Ukraine aid.

"Reports of DHS’s involvement in efforts to be the arbiter of truth on wide-ranging topics are extremely concerning," Katko fired back Tuesday in response to the report.

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U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the Senate. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

"This is not DHS’s role, as evidenced by the fierce backlash against and ultimate disbanding of the Disinformation Governance Board earlier this year. Simply put: The American People do not approve of the Department engaging in unclear, unaccountable, and opaque efforts led by the Biden administration’s ever-changing definition of ‘truth,'" Katko said.

"As lead Republican of the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, I have been closely monitoring the Biden administration’s misguided counter-disinformation activities," said Sen. Rob Porman, R-Ohio. "I look forward to pressing Secretary Mayorkas on disinformation issues as well as the many other threats facing our country during our upcoming annual threats to the homeland hearing."

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"It is unfathomable to me how severely misplaced the Department of Homeland Security’s priorities continue to be," Katko continued. "When the border crisis is reaching record-breaking levels daily, cyber-attacks from adversaries are threatening to cripple our critical infrastructure, the rise in violent crime is putting Americans across the country in danger, and disrupted supply chains are having devastating impacts on Americans, DHS cannot seem to let go of the desire to police Americans’ free speech."

The Republican, who is retiring from Congress at the end of the year, also advised DHS components to "avoid politicizing themselves any further at the risk of jeopardizing their ability to carry out their vital missions."

Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

He noted that Republicans on the committee will continue to work to conduct oversight of DHS and ensure the agency is transparent with Congress.

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DHS came under scrutiny for its "un-American" Disinformation Governance Board, which critics on the left and right dubbed chilling to the free speech of Americans.

The public first learned about the Disinformation Governance Board when DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke of it during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing in April.

Katko, in early May, demanded that Mayorkas provide basic information to the committee, including the disinformation board's organization, members, schedule and recommendations. He and 13 members of the committee also scolded Mayorkas for a confusing rollout of the board, according to a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital.

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The public first learned about the Disinformation Governance Board when DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke of it during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing in April. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

As a result, DHS terminated the board in late May.