During a hearing Wednesday with the Homeland Security chief, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) ripped apart the Trump administration’s plans for “extreme vetting” of foreign travelers.
She was then accused of fomenting hysteria by her colleague, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who warned that people were trying to bring cell phone bombs aboard airplanes.
The heated back-and-forth occurred during proceedings before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, featuring testimony from DHS Secretary John Kelly.
“You’ve got to understand, Secretary Kelly,” McCaskill said, “if they know we’re going to look at their phones, and know we’re going to ask them questions about their ideology, they’re going to get rid of their phones.”
“They’re going to lie,” she continued, referring to people who might intend to travel to the US to carry out attacks.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, the Trump administration is considering a series of “extreme vetting” options for overseas visitors to the US. Proposed measures include the examining of cell phone contacts, pictures, social media passwords, and financial data.
The WSJ also reported that DHS is looking into ideological questionnaires for foreign travelers, including their views on the treatment of women and military targeting decisions.
Officials acknowledged that the extreme vetting procedures might be applied to travelers from visa waiver countries, including the UK, France, and Germany.
“Every ambassador in Washington read this,” McCaskill told Kelly during Wednesday’s hearing. “And every ambassador in Washington called back to their country and said, ‘listen to this.’”
“We are signally something that’s very un-American to the rest of the world by announcing this policy,” McCaskill added, noting that her “hair is on fire over this.”
Sen. John McCain later mocked McCaskill’s line of questioning.
“You know what sets my hair on fire?” McCain asked rhetorically. He then took out his phone, waved it around, and claimed there are people “planting explosives and committing acts of terror with this technology.”
“I’m really worried about offending every ambassador in Washington,” McCain continued sarcastically. “That’s always been one of my greatest concerns.”
Shooting a look at McCaskill across the dais, McCain added: “maybe we ought to put a little perspective on this hysteria.”
Kelly attempted to clarify some of the reporting on the administration’s extreme vetting plans. He testified that the extra measures wouldn’t be “routinely done.”
One-half of one percent of travelers would have their phones inspected, Kelly alleged, when asked by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.).
He added, however, there’s a “myriad” of reasons that would prompt such screening.
Later in the hearing, McCaskill had a chance to response to McCain’s criticism, although he had already left the hearing.
“I had to smile when Sen. McCain said I was being hysterical,” she said. “I was being focused and passionate.”
