Senate ranking members tell Noem the shutdown violates the Homeland Security Act and demand an accounting

The joint letter states the senators "believe that you are in violation of" Homeland Security Act § 872 (6 U.S.C. § 452), which bars abolition of statutorily required units and requires 60 days' advance notice to Congress with a rationale before reorganizing, and of § 513 of P.L. 118-47 (carried forward by the FY2025 full-year continuing resolution, P.L. 119-4), which bars using appropriated funds to carry out § 872 absent explicit congressional authorization. It recounts the whistleblower disclosures (approximately 550 abandoned open investigations), the litigation admissions that CRCL's and OIDO's statutory obligations were not being performed, and DHS's reliance on contractors, detailees, and dual-hatted appointees who would "oversee their own components." Among six enumerated demands due July 31, 2025 was item 6: "The rationale for the decision to eliminate public access to previous CRCL reports and recommendations, as well as an explanation of where this information is now housed."