White House Accuses Kevin McCarthy of Publicity Stunt

(RightWing.org) – A group of Republican lawmakers led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) visited the US-Mexico border to investigate the illegal immigration crisis. They met local cops and residents, inspected the border fence and spoke to Arizona politicians as part of their fact-finding tour. It seems the Biden administration isn’t happy with its chaotic immigration policy being scrutinized, though, because the White House is trying to dismiss the visit as a “publicity stunt.”

White House blasts McCarthy-lead GOP border trip as 'publicity stunt' weeks after Biden defended his own visit https://t.co/GZp1BHaCT1

— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) February 16, 2023

On February 16, McCarthy and four other House Republicans — Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) — traveled to Cochise County, Arizona, one of the hotspots in the illegal immigration crisis. At a press conference held yards from the border wall itself, McCarthy told locals the administration has lost “operational control” of the border and vowed to tell Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Majorkas to stop lying to the people that “this border is secure.” He highlighted the role of the Sinaloa drug cartel in illegal migration, pointing out that the only way to cross the border is to buy permission from the cartel’s enforcers.

The White House started criticizing the visit before McCarthy and his companions had even left the capital. On Wednesday, February 15, administration spokesman Ian Sams claimed, “House Republicans should spend less time on partisan publicity stunts” and work with the administration to find solutions. In fact, Republicans have proposed many solutions while Biden has worked hard to turn border agents into travel agents.

Since Biden took office, around 5.5 million people have attempted to enter the US illegally, and this administration has made it easier than ever for them to stay. One of his first acts as president was to issue a 100-day moratorium on deportations, which luckily was blocked by a federal judge in Texas, but arrests and deportations slumped anyway. McCarthy is determined to force Biden to do something about this humanitarian disaster, but it looks like the White House is digging in its heels.