Hawley Confronts FBI Director Wray Over Vacation Flight on FBI Jet (November 17, 2022)

On November 17, 2022, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and National Counterterrorism Center Director Christine Abizaid testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee at its “Threats to the Homeland” hearing [1]. When his turn came, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri did not ask about terrorism threats. He asked Wray about a hearing three months earlier, on August 4, which Republicans said had been cut short so the director could leave on a family trip aboard an FBI jet. This video shows that exchange. All quotes below are from the official hearing record, Senate Hearing 117-682 [1].

Key Moments

”Please tell me that is not accurate”

Hawley reminded Wray of the August 4 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. “We were supposed to do two rounds of questions. You said you had to be somewhere so we cut it short,” he said. “The press reported shortly thereafter that the reason that the hearing had to be cut short is because you were flying on a Gulfstream jet for a personal vacation in the Adirondacks. Please tell me that is not accurate.”

Wray disputed that the hearing had been cut short: “We had agreed beforehand on the time and length of it.” He added: “I am required, not only permitted but required to fly on an FBI plane wherever I go.” “So you were going on vacation?” Hawley asked. “I was, yes,” Wray said. “I took a flight to go visit my family, as had been previously arranged in conjunction … with the leadership of the Committee."

"Is there any reason we cannot accommodate them for 21 minutes?”

Hawley then read what the Judiciary Committee’s ranking Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, had said at the August hearing: “We only just heard half an hour ago that now you have to leave. We were going to have a seven minute round followed by a three minute round. I have seven people on my side of the aisle … who are waiting for this additional round. Is there any reason we cannot accommodate them for 21 minutes?” “You said you had a plane to catch,” Hawley told Wray. “Now we find out it was for vacation?”

Grassley had also asked whether Wray had “other business,” and Wray had said yes. Wray now explained that the reference “was not a reference to that day. It was a reference to the following week where Senator Grassley and I were going to see each other in Iowa.” “So wait,” Hawley replied. “You had to leave the hearing early because you were going to see him later in Iowa, in a week?” “No,” Wray said. “I had to leave when I said I was going to have to leave, as had been previously organized with the leadership of the Committee."

"Absolutely unbelievable, and frankly, indefensible”

“You left an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, required by statute, so you could vacation with your family. I find that absolutely unbelievable, and frankly, indefensible,” Hawley said. He noted that the Gulfstream 550 had been “originally purchased for counterterrorism purposes,” and Wray confirmed that his destination was Saranac Lake, New York. “Did you enjoy the flight? I mean, did you pay for it?” Hawley asked. “Yes, I paid for it,” Wray said, and he agreed to turn over “the information … related to my use of the plane.” When Wray repeated that he was “required, not just permitted, required, even for personal travel, to use the FBI plane,” Hawley answered: “How convenient for you.” “I pay every single time that I use the plane for personal reasons,” Wray said.

”Do you think you are still up to this job?”

Hawley then listed allegations he said FBI whistleblowers had brought to Congress: that the bureau sent “a dozen armed agents” to arrest a “Catholic pro-life demonstrator” at his rural Pennsylvania home, that field agents were pulled off child sex abuse and human trafficking cases to work on January 6 cases, and that FBI headquarters suppressed investigations into Hunter Biden. “This is what is happening at your FBI while you are evading oversight hearings. Mr. Director, do you think you are still up to this job?” “I absolutely think I am still up to this job, and I think our workforce feels the same way,” Wray said. “I do not,” Hawley replied, “and frankly, I think you should have been gone a long time ago.” He closed by asking whether Wray had travel plans that day and would stay for the second round. “Yes,” Wray said.

”For 18 Months You Have Said, ‘We Are Working on It’”

At the same hearing, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., pressed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the border. “Secretary Mayorkas, you and I have talked about Title 42 for about 18 months, and I have asked you the question, what happens when Title 42 goes away? For 18 months you have said, ‘We are working on it,’” Lankford said [1].

“One is the numbers just came in for October. It is the third-highest number in recorded history,” Lankford said of the border numbers [1].

Then he asked a point-blank question. “What percentage of the individuals that are encountered at our Southern Border do we know their criminal history from the country they are coming from?” [1]

“I will have to get back to you on that, Senator, whether we have the capability of identifying the percentage, which is what you have inquired about,” Mayorkas said. Asked for a guess, he said: “I am quite hesitant to guess on information that is so important to our mission.” [1]

“We do not know if these individuals are fleeing poverty or fleeing from the law. We do not know,” Lankford said [1].

Background: Why the FBI Director Flies on FBI Jets

Federal rules treat the FBI director as a “required use” traveler. According to a 2013 Government Accountability Office report, the attorney general and the FBI director are “authorized to travel aboard DOJ or other government aircraft regardless of their trip purpose,” including personal travel, “because of their need for special protective security measures and secure communications while in flight.” For a wholly personal trip, they must reimburse the government “the full coach fare.” GAO also reported that until 2011 the FBI director could choose commercial flights for personal travel; after that, the government plane became the rule [2].

The Record

The vacation flight. Wray confirmed it. He said he was going on vacation, named Saranac Lake, New York, as his destination and said he paid for the flight [1].
The second round that never came. Grassley’s words at the August hearing, as Hawley read them, show Republicans had planned “a seven minute round followed by a three minute round” and had seven senators waiting [1]. Wray said the hearing’s length had been agreed in advance with committee leadership [1].
“A dozen armed agents.” Mark Houck’s wife put the number even higher. She told the Catholic News Agency that about 25 agents came to the family’s home and that guns were pointed at the family [3]. The FBI’s Philadelphia office said no SWAT team was involved and that Houck “was taken into custody without incident” [3].

What Happened Next

Houck: On January 30, 2023, a federal jury in Philadelphia acquitted Mark Houck of both charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act [3][4]. He later sued the Justice Department, and Fox News reported in 2026 that he had reached a seven-figure settlement [5].
Wray: On December 11, 2024, after President-elect Donald Trump said he would replace him, Wray announced that he would resign at the end of the Biden administration, with about three years left in his 10-year term [6].
His successor: On February 20, 2025, the Senate confirmed Kash Patel as FBI director, 51–49 [7].