The Michigan senator who chairs the Homeland Security Committee called it "a shocking departure" from practice.

Both bodies have been accused of side-stepping the "opportunity for public accountability" regarding how they Americans safe.

The leaders of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security declined to testify publicly at a scheduled Senate committee hearing Thursday on global threats to national security, a break from standard protocol of open testimony before the panel.

In a statement, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters called their refusal to publicly testify a "shocking departure" that runs counter to 15 years of precedent.