Congressmen Goldman, Thompson, Magaziner Lead Call for Biden Administration to Name Domestic Terrorism Director, Request Update on National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism

Follows Recent Anti-Defamation League Report Revealing Domestic Extremists Have Killed Nearly 500 People

Domestic Terrorism Cases Increased by Over 350 Percent Over 8 Years

Domestic Extremist Groups Pose Largest Terrorism Threat to United States

Domestic Terrorism Director Would Ensure Implementation of National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism

Read the Letter Here

Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10), Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), and Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism Ranking Member Seth Magaziner (RI-02) today led 23 Democrats in a letter to President Biden requesting an update on the Administration’s implementation of the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism (the National Strategy).

In their letter, which was endorsed by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the NAACP, the lawmakers also urge the Biden Administration to name a senior level Domestic Terrorism Director at the National Security Council as well as release a public version of any Strategic Implementation Plan so that Congressman may provide additional support to the fight against domestic extremism.

Domestic terrorism related cases increased over 350 percent from 2013 to 2021.

“Strategies can only be as effective as their implementation. Following the two-year anniversary of the National Strategy, we are eager for an update on the implementation of the National Strategy so we can continue to support the critical objective of combating domestic extremism,” the lawmakers wrote. “We want to be partners in the “whole of society” approach to combating domestic violent extremism and that starts with a clear and concise understanding about how the Strategy has been implemented.”

Their letter follows a recently released report from the ADL which revealed that domestic extremists of all kinds have killed at least 444 people in the United States in the past 10 years, with 75 percent of those deaths coming at the hands of right-wing extremists. Domestic extremist groups, particularly white supremacists, have been identified as the largest domestic terrorist threat facing the country.

“Put simply, the National Strategy simply cannot be fully implemented without federal resources and legislative complements,” the lawmakers continued. “Increased transparency in the implementation of the National Strategy and the appointment of a senior level official to oversee such efforts would send a message to the American people - and specifically those impacted by domestic violent extremism - that this remains an unwavering priority for the Administration.”

The National Strategy was announced by the Biden Administration in June of 2021 and has four pillars:

1. Understanding and sharing domestic terrorism information
2. Preventing domestic terrorism recruitment and mobilization
3. Disrupting and deterring domestic terrorism activity
4. Confronting long term contributors to domestic terrorism

Additionally, the lawmakers called for the appointment of a senior level Domestic Terrorism Director at the National Security Council. This new position would ensure coordination across federal agencies for full implementation of the National Strategy and would form relationships with Congress and the budget agencies forstronger federal support.

The letter was also signed by Representatives Casten (IL-06), Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Doggett (TX-37), Evans (PA-03), Frankel (FL-22), Gottheimer (NJ-05), Ivey (MD-04), Kaptur (OH-09), Lee (CA-12), Lee (PA-12), Lynch (MA-08), Menendez (NJ-08), Meng (NY-06), Moskowitz (FL-23), Pascrell (NJ-09), Porter (CA-47), Raskin (MD-08), Schiff (CA-30), Swalwell (CA-14), Thanedar (MI-13), Titus (NV-01), Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), and Williams (GA-05).

Read the letter here or below:

Dear President Biden,

Thank you for your continued leadership in countering domestic terrorism. We appreciate your clear guidance to the American public, including your unambiguous statement from the recently released National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism that “our intelligence agencies have determined that domestic terrorism rooted in white supremacy—including antisemitism—is the greatest terrorist threat to our Homeland today.” We are thankful that you are focusing on this urgent message, and we share your commitment to building bipartisan solutions to prevent hate- fueled violence.

We also commend the Administration for its clarification of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, acknowledging that it prohibits certain forms of antisemitic, Islamophobic, and related forms of religious discrimination in federally funded programs and activities. This is a much needed and important step in protecting the civil rights of all Americans.

A little over two years ago, we also welcomed the federal government’s first-ever comprehensive National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism (the National Strategy). The interagency strategy is an ambitious plan to meet the rising threat of domestic violent extremism, such as violent white supremacy and anti-government extremism, which since 2019, the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have repeatedly identified as the most persistent and lethal terrorist threat to the homeland.

In the last five years, more Americans have been killed on U.S. soil by domestic extremists than by foreign terrorist organizations. Prominent examples of domestic extremism include: Charlottesville, where one woman was killed and 19 others were injured while protesting a white-nationalist rally in 2017; Pittsburgh, where 11 people were killed after an antisemitic attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018; El Paso, where a racially-motivated extremist targeted the Latino community, killed 23 people in a shooting attack at a Walmart; Buffalo, where a racially-motivated extremist shooter targeting the Black community killed 10 people at a supermarket in 2022; January 6, 2021 when hundreds of extremists attacked the U.S. Capitol resulting in the loss of life and injury; Colorado Springs, where a person motivated by anti- LGBTQ+ animus attacked an LGBTQ+ nightclub in 2022, killing five people; and Jacksonville, where a racially-motivated extremist targeting the Black community killed three people at a supermarket in 2023.

The recently released Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report entitled, Murder and Extremism in the United States, 2023, revealed that domestic extremists of all kinds have killed at least 444 people in the United States in the past 10 years, with 75% of those deaths coming at the hands of right-wing extremists. ADL’s Right-Wing Terrorism in the United States report also determined that, between 2017 and 2022, domestic right-wing extremists in the United States initiated 67 domestic terrorist attacks and plots against a variety of targets.

The four pillars of the National Strategy include: (1) understanding and sharing domestic terrorism information; (2) preventing domestic terrorism recruitment and mobilization; (3) disrupting and deterring domestic terrorism activity; and (4) confronting long term contributors to domestic terrorism. These are comprehensive solutions with a cohesive plan that properly focus federal resources on this threat.

That said, we request that your Administration provide a detailed update to Congress about the status of its commitments – specifically, how each agency has implemented, and will continue to implement, the National Strategy. In addition, we urge your Administration to release a public version of any Strategic Implementation Plan so that Congress can understand how best to support the National Strategy.

Strategies can only be as effective as their implementation. Following the two-year anniversary of the National Strategy, we are eager for an update on the implementation of the National Strategy so we can continue to support the critical objective of combating domestic extremism. We want to be partners in the “whole of society” approach to combating domestic violent extremism and that starts with a clear and concise understanding about how the Strategy has been implemented.

We also believe that the White House should name a senior level Domestic Terrorism Director at the National Security Council whose exclusive, full-time focus is addressing domestic terrorism and hate-motivated violence in the United States. This senior appointee would indicate continued momentum and promote the coordination necessary to ensure that the National Strategy is executed in full, that White House policy aligns with law enforcement needs, and that federal agencies are both properly addressing and mitigating the threat. Ideally, the authority would include legislative and budget coordination, including with Office of Management and Budget representation on the working group.

Put simply, the National Strategy simply cannot be fully implemented without federal resources and legislative complements. Increased transparency in the implementation of the National Strategy and the appointment of a senior level official to oversee such efforts would send a message to the American people - and specifically those impacted by domestic violent extremism - that this remains an unwavering priority for the Administration.

Thank you for your dedication and continued collaboration on this issue.

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