California Republican Kevin McCarthy is having to play the role of the White House because of their lack of response to the border crisis. Last week two known terrorists who were on the terror watchlist were apprehended at the southern border. In response, McCarthy, not the Biden administration, requested an FBI-CIA security briefing be assembled.
In a true show of professionalism, McCarthy set aside political differences and added a request that the current vice president Kamala Harris attend. The Biden administration promised unity but has only caught to widen the divide between the two parties since he took office but McCarthy understands what’s on the line with the leaky borders.
This should be a massive embarrassment to Biden since he is the one who appointed Harris as the one in charge of managing the crisis at the border. The do-nothing VP has yet to take any sort of action to aid the situation and to add to that insult, she pretty much refuses to visit the southern border or facilities despite numerous pleas.
“Through conversations with the Border Patrol and media reports, I have learned of the apprehension of foreign nationals on Terrorism Watch List who were attempting to illegally cross our southern border,” he said. “This highlights the ongoing national security risk posed by the border crisis. When scheduled, I would request Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi, Leader [Mitch] McConnell, and Leader [Chuck] Schumer attend as well.
“I would also like to extend an invitation to Vice President Harris to join us for this briefing. On March 24, the vice president was appointed by the president to lead the government’s efforts on the border crisis and I hope she along with congressional leaders, could benefit from this briefing.
“Last month, I along with 12 other members of Congress, traveled to El Paso, Texas, to see firsthand the humanitarian and security crisis that has emerged along our southern border this year.”
Border Patrol Agents provided briefings, and revealed they had “apprehended individuals from not only Mexico and Central America but countries including China, Iran, Yemen, and Turkey,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy points to the fact that the security risks at the border only continue to get worse. Noting that it has already begun to increase since he last visit:
“Just yesterday, in a now-deleted, publicly released statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the arrests of two Yemeni individuals caught illegally crossing the border. … Like the cases we were briefed on in El Paso, these suspects were on the Terrorism Watch List.
“We simply have no way of knowing if other terrorists have crossed the border undetected.”
McCarthy told Fox News that he requested Harris to attend but it’s unclear if and when that will happen.
“I know she hasn’t been to the border,” McCarthy said. “I don’t know if she’s ever been briefed on this, but I think it’d be important that all the leaders because this isn’t about Republican or Democrat, this is about the security of our nation. And everybody should be making sure our nation is secure.”
And he noted: “So we know people on the terrorist watch list are coming into America. How are they coming in? How many do we assume got through that we did not catch? Why were they on the watch list? What were they doing coming into the country? Do we have any intel based upon what did they have planned once they entered into the country? Who were they going to meet up with?
“Any terrorists that come into this country is too much and it should not be a partisan issue.”
When asked if she would be going to the border by a reporter, Harris laughed while standing outside of Air Force 2. She’s made appearances at a bakery in Chicago for a photo-op, and even flew to California- just a short trip from the border. Yet, she doesn’t seem to have time to make one single stop to check on the facilities?