For the second day in a row on Thursday, congressional testimony from top national security officials about threats to the homeland was postponed over an apparent disagreement between officials and lawmakers about whether the hearings should be held in public.

FBI Director Christopher Wray, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Brett Holmgren, the acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, were scheduled to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in an annual public hearing titled “Threats to the Homeland.” About an hour and a half before it was set to begin, it was postponed. A new date was not immediately scheduled.

A companion hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security set for Wednesday was also postponed.

The FBI and DHS quickly defended themselves against bipartisan criticism Thursday morning. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., called it a “shocking departure” from a 15-year tradition that “robs the American people of critical information and the opportunity for public accountability of what the federal government is doing to keep Americans safe.”

In a statement, the FBI National Press Office said the bureau has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to transparency and cooperation with congressional oversight.

“We remain committed to sharing information about the continuously evolving threat environment facing our nation and the extraordinary work the men and women of the FBI are doing — here at home and around the world — to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States. FBI leaders have testified extensively in public settings about the current threat environment and believe the Committee would benefit most from further substantive discussions and additional information that can only be provided in a classified setting,” the statement said.

In its own statement, the DHS pointed out that Mayorkas has testified before Congress 30 times during his tenure.

“DHS and the FBI have offered to the Committee a classified briefing to discuss the threats to the homeland in detail, providing the Committee with the information it needs to conduct its work in the months ahead. DHS and the FBI already have shared with the Committee and other Committees, and with the American public, extensive unclassified information about the current threat environment,” the statement said, referencing the recently published Homeland Threat Assessment.

The National Counterterrorism Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence plays a supporting role to the FBI and DHS in these hearings.

Peters said the DHS and FBI’s “claims that they can only relay such information and respond to questions in a classified setting are entirely without merit.”

Committee member Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., reacted to news of the postponement on Fox News.

“They have not given a reason other than they did not want to testify in an open setting on these issues,” Lankford said. “Again, the American people need to know. We’ve got multiple threats that are out there.”

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