President Obama said, "There were bits of information available within the intelligence community that could have and should have been pieced together."
The President blames the intelligence community for allowing the 23-year-old Nigerian suspect onboard the flight in the first place. Republicans blame the President and his Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for the lapse at Airport Screening.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R) Arizona said, "Her comment that there is no evidence of a wider conspiracy is just plain wrong."
Still, others claim Napolitano never got the chance to act on critical intelligence gathered by agencies like the CIA.
Then there's the issue of filling leadership roles at the Custom and Borders Protection Agency and the Transportation Security Administration. Senator Jim DeMint has placed a hold on the nomination of Erroll Southers as TSA Chief.
Concerning the nomination, Napolitano's predecessor encourages both parties to cooperate.
Former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said, "I don't think it ought to be a political issue. And I didn't think it should be one when I we were in office. Unfortunately, some people made it a political issue."
A bi-partisan group of senators are suggesting that Guantanamo detainees should not be released to Yemen because Al Qaeda is using that country as a base to launch attacks on the U.S.
