Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is in Arizona this week to survey the situation at the US-Mexico border. The visit will include the US Border Patrol’s Tucson sector, an aerial tour of the area within Cochise County, a meet and greet, and a fact-finding session with local law enforcement and residents impacted daily by uncontrolled illegal immigration. The junket also includes Congressional delegates – all freshmen legislators with fresh eyes on the problem.
Optics aside, will McCarthy be able to uphold his promise to force the Biden administration to clean up its mess on the southern border? Before Republicans officially took the reins of the lower chamber, guarantees were made by the new speaker: “If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate every order, every action, and every failure will determine whether we can begin [an] impeachment inquiry.” So far, crickets. But perhaps this is the first salvo across the aisle to show that the GOP is serious.
To date, Secretary of State Alejandro Mayorkas has shrugged off the accusations and insists: “I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m proud to do it, alongside 250,000 incredibly dedicated and talented individuals in the Department of Homeland Security.” But the border boss should perhaps be wary: Under Joe Biden, nearly 5 million illegal immigrants have swarmed across the southern border in remote locations that are not necessarily equipped with enough national security enforcement.
Critics, of course, claim it is all a photo op to rile up the MAGA Republicans again.
Is McCarthy a Red Hat Wearer?
After former President Trump encouraged his base to support McCarthy for speaker, the California lawmaker thanked number 45: “I do want to especially thank President Trump. I don’t think anyone should doubt his influence.” In hindsight, that may not be the hill on which McCarthy wants to plant his flag. Painting the speaker with a broad red brush, Douglas Rivlin, director of communications for America’s Voice, an immigrant advocacy group, tried to redirect the reason for the border visit as a way to blow the dog whistle to MAGA folks still irked about 2020 election results. “So instead of actually legislating, the speaker is doing yet another border photo op to send a message to his MAGA critics that he’s opposed to immigration as much as they are and get himself on Fox News,” said Rivlin. “Nativism has become the heart of MAGA Republicanism, and the speaker and the Republican Party are in their grips.”
Kevin McCarthy (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
But is that simply conjecture by Democrats? It appears few remember when the two were not so cozy. The infamous phone call on Jan 6, 2021, between Trump from outside and McCarthy, who was in the Capitol as protesters came in unlawfully, has not since been mentioned. “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” McCarthy claimed Trump scolded him. Other Republican lawmakers also relayed that McCarthy responded in great anger as windows in his congressional office were broken, saying, “Who the f–k do you think you are talking to?” McCarthy leveled the blame on Trump. As a result, a solid friendship seems unlikely. But politics do make strange bedfellows, whether or not Rivlin is on the right scent.
Make It Look Good
Anyone who has spent time on the US southern border knows that conditions for immigrants and US residents are dire. It is a life-or-death situation, and with new eyes on the issue, perhaps a more persuasive argument will be made to deal with the raging crisis at hand. Moreover, it seems that Congress is taking the border more seriously now that GOP has control of the House. Two House committees held hearings last week, trotting in for eyewitness testimony John Modlin, chief patrol agent for the Tucson sector, and Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels.
President Biden has called on Congress to get legislation in place to control the porous international boundary, in both State of the Union addresses and then sporadically when cornered by the press. He assigned his number two to handle the border to no avail. There are no solutions as of yet. Speaker McCarthy might come home from Arizona with a brand new plan - but don’t hold your breath.
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