It's the Bryant Lair Show on WNIC. Good morning, everyone. Congressman Jim Himes is with

us to talk primarily about this first week with Mike Johnson, a speaker of the House,

and his positions on the Israel-Humas War, including anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and domestic

terror threats here in the U.S. On that last point, Congressman Himes is the top Democrat

on the House Intelligence Committee, so he's in a relevant position to react to FBI Director

Chris Ray, warning now of a heightened possibility of Hamas-inspired terror attacks in this country.

Congressman Himes, other main committee is financial services, so maybe he has a reaction

to the Fed holding interest rate steady yesterday or the strong economic growth numbers.

We're still hooking up our line with the Congressman. Let me play this clip of FBI Director

Chris Ray. He said in a Senate testimony yesterday that they have no evidence of an imminent

threat from a foreign-based terrorist group. But as NPR quotes him, he noted that since

Hamas's attack on Israel, Al-Qaeda has issued its most specific call for violence against

the U.S. and years, while the Islamic State has urged its followers to target Jewish communities

in the United States and Europe. Here's that clip of FBI Director Chris Ray.

The reality is that the terrorism threat has been elevated throughout 2023, but the ongoing

war in the Middle East has raised a threat of an attack against Americans in the United

States to a whole nother level. Since the horrific terror attacks committed by Hamas against

innocent people in Israel a few weeks ago, we've been working around the clock to support

our partners there and to protect Americans here at home. We assess that the actions

of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven't seen since

ISIS launched its so-called caliphate several years ago.

FBI Director Chris Ray, testifying before the Senate, Congressman Himes, is here now.

...