He repeatedly said it was his “policy” to test for coronavirus infection, but two hours into a hearing with the Homeland Security Committee, he admitted that the department was falling well short of that goal. He did add that improvements have been made.

“There have been times when we have not met our responsibility as well as we should have. Those instances are brought to the attention of leadership, and they are addressed and we improved based on the mistakes made,” he said.

Pressed further, he said, “There were instances in which individuals were released.”