FBI Director Kash Patel and Sen. David McCormick (R-PA) warned Wednesday in Allentown, Pa., after a fentanyl roundtable that terror sleeper cell threats in the U.S. are “real.” Patel cited two March 2026 attacks, one in Norfolk, Va., by convicted ISIS supporter Mohamed Jalloh, and another in Michigan, where a Hezbollah-radicalized man attacked a synagogue, as evidence of foreign terrorism dangers.
The pair credited President Trump’s focus on homeland security. McCormick highlighted hundreds of terror watchlist crossings under Biden and criticized Democrats for a 49-day DHS funding shutdown amid the Iran conflict, calling it “absolute political theater” by Sen. Chuck Schumer that endangers law enforcement.
In any case, BI Director Kash Patel said, “President Trump has prioritized defending the homeland and resources to do so. These two recent tragic examples (in Virginia and in Michigan) are an unfortunate, tragic reminder of what happens, specifically in Norfolk, when you let an actual convicted terrorist not finish his jail sentence.
Chiming in, Sen. David McCormick added, “Many of them are loose in our country,” he said. “[T]he effort of the administration to close the border, which it’s done successfully, is now [to] take those violent criminals and send them home.”
Responding, Patel noted, “Every day and every time someone [in DHS] misses a paycheck, it’s yet another opportunity for the criminals to take advantage of a system that should be fixed easily, and thanks to Sen. Dave McCormick and the charge he’s leading, I believe DHS is going to be funded. And those that vote against funding DHS are literally voting against law enforcement, and, to me, it makes no sense.” (
Continuing his comments, McCormick declared, “It’s absolute political theater on the part of Chuck Schumer,” he said, calling the idea that Democrats would use DHS funding as a “political pawn” during wartime “unforgivable.” He added, “What’s happening is Schumer keeps moving the finish line in terms of what he’s trying to achieve. I think it’s disgraceful.”
McCormick took ot social media to stay, “Spent the day in Allentown, PA, yesterday with @FBIDirectorKash
, our law enforcement partners, and families devastated by fentanyl. Federal, state, and local agencies are working together and making real progress, but we are not done yet.”
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“Grateful to the @FBI and our state and local partners for standing on the front lines every single day to protect our communities and cut off the flow of fentanyl,” he explained, prompting a resposne from the the FBI director.
“Thank you for your leadership @SenMcCormickPA – we are crushing the plague of fentanyl in America
thanks to the President’s policies and great support like yours on Capitol Hill. And there’s more to come,” Patel responded.
In a social media post, Patel doubled down on his tough-on-crime rhetoric. “67,000 arrests. Violent crime arrests up 100%+. 1,800 gangs dismantled. Murder and robbery rates dropping to historic lows,” he stated in a triumphant tone.
“We put 1,000 agents back in the field, backed our cops, and went to work — because Donald Trump lets good cops be cops. Criminals are on notice. We’re not slowing down,” the FBI director added to conclude his post.