Secretary of Homeland Security At Odds With Staci Appel’s View On Terrorism

The Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security today and declared that Western passports in the hands of Islamic terrorists remain a high level threat to our homeland security.

When questioned by Rep. Peter King on revoking passports of potential terrorists, Secretary Johnson said:

“I agree with the FBI Director [James Comey] that suspension of passports should be on a case by case basis. The State Department has the authority to suspend passports. I also know that suspension, revocation of passports can be done on an expedited basis when the situation warrants in a matter of hours or days. It does not necessarily need to be a lengthy process. I agree given the current environment that we need to seriously consider limiting the ability of certain individuals to travel. Either to go from one foreign country to another or from our country to another country.”

This goes in direct conflict with congressional candidate Staci Appel’s views on terrorism. At a debate last week, Appel said she would not seek to confiscate American passports from known terrorists helping the Islamic State.

Please consider the following comment as you cover this story and Staci Appel’s naïve view on terrorism.

“The Secretary of Homeland Security strongly contradicted Staci Appel’s inexperienced views on terrorism. The fact that Appel doesn’t believe America should revoke the U.S. passports of known terrorists is frightening. Iowans don’t want a Congresswoman who is soft on terrorism and doesn’t understand the threat the Islamic State poses to the United States, our allies, and our global interests.”– Tyler Q. Houlton, NRCC Spokesman