() U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testified Wednesday afternoon on Capitol Hill, where she discussed the DOJ’s budget and the possible threat of Iranian sleeper cells.
Bondi told lawmakers during the hearing that all federal agencies would be taking the threats of sleeper cells attacking the U.S. “very seriously.” As attorney general, Bondi looks over several different law enforcement agencies, like the FBI, which is one of the agencies on the frontline defense of counterterrorism.
Senators grew concerned about the threat of sleeper cells following the U.S. strike on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend. Hundreds of FBI personnel were shifted from their work on counterterrorism to help with immigration and border control, leaving senators to wonder if the agency was prepared to take on the threat if anything happens.
“We have, thus far, arrested 1,500 illegal Iranians in our country,” Bondi said when asked by Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham about the threat. “Have they invaded our country? Absolutely.”
With the FBI personnel shifts, the proposed budget for the DOJ for the 2026 fiscal year cuts spending for the agency by $2.5 billion, a 7% cut in what the DOJ gets right now from Congress. There were concerns that if the funding is cut, then you face cuts from critical resources like cybersecurity, which drew attention as Iran has been known to perpetrate cyberattacks.
“We have a lot of threats. Domestic terrorism continues to be an issue, cybersecurity, and they’re looking at a lot of cuts to our cybersecurity force, and that’s the one persistent threat that we have against our country,” Democratic Michigan Sen. Gary Peters said. “Iranians are very clearly active in cyberthreats.”
The budget that has been proposed right now for the DOJ will likely increase once Congress gets to work on it.
