Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) confronted Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, demanding answers about a federal court ruling on July 4.
The ruling found substantial evidence that Biden administration agencies, including DHS and the FBI, may have violated the First Amendment by colluding with social media platforms to suppress protected free speech.
Secretary Mayorkas is the MOST DISHONEST witness to sit before the Judiciary Committee in my 7 years in Congress.
He is personally responsible for the open border catastrophe, skyrocketing fentanyl deaths, and the human trafficking crisis — & the American people DESERVE answers. pic.twitter.com/6fTnlHNnFG
— Rep. Mike Johnson (@RepMikeJohnson) July 26, 2023
Johnson began by citing the 155-page order issued by U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty in Louisiana, which restricted certain Biden administration officials’ communications with social media companies to prevent the removal or suppression of content containing protected free speech.
Johnson expressed frustration with Mayorkas’s leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, accusing the agency of causing harm through record levels of illegal immigration, declining deportations, increasing fentanyl deaths, and failing to address security issues like the White House cocaine incident.
The Louisiana court opinion known as Missouri v. Biden specifically pointed out the collusion between Biden administration agencies and social media companies to censor Americans’ protected free speech online. However, Mayorkas claimed that he had not read the opinion, and Johnson questioned why the head of DHS was unaware of such a significant case involving his agency.
Mayorkas’s denial that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) engages in censorship was met with skepticism from Johnson, who emphasized the court’s finding of the “most massive attack against free speech in United States history.”
Johnson pressed Mayorkas on whether CISA’s “misinformation and disinformation subcommittee” still existed, to which Mayorkas couldn’t provide an immediate answer.
Rep Mike Johnson absolutely brings DIRTY Mayorkas to school on the 1st amendment!🎉🎉🥳 pic.twitter.com/V52kEuLMNp
— Santa Surfing (@SantaSurfing) July 26, 2023
The exchange continued as Johnson sought to define misinformation and questioned who determines what is false. Mayorkas claimed that CISA identifies tactics used by adverse nation-states to weaponize disinformation.
Johnson disagreed, arguing that the government shouldn’t determine what constitutes false information, as it may infringe on First Amendment rights.
