Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is asking the Homeland Security Department (DHS) to hand over documents that may describe Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now running for the presidency, as the “border czar” in the latest clash over the migrant crisis.
The request comes after the White House denied Harris was ever given such a title, although President Joe Biden tasked her in 2021 with stemming the “root causes” of migration to the southern border and she had often received the label by the press and others.
Gaetz sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that seeks communications from March 24, 2021, and March 24, 2022, that use terms such as “czar,” “border,” or “migration,” from DHS and its correspondence with the Office of the Vice President.
The congressman also wants any internal DHS directive or guidance from 2021 to the present “referring to the Vice President or the Office of the Vice President as having any formal or informal clearance, approval, or stakeholder input on Departmental decisions.”
Gaetz asked that any responsive documents be provided by August 30.
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“Kamala Harris was named ‘BORDER CZAR’ in 2021 by Joe Biden!” Gaetz said in a post to X. “She helped DESTROY our Southern Border. Now she and the liberal media want to cover it up.”
Ever since Harris began running for the presidency after Biden ended his re-election campaign last month, Republicans have increasingly shifted their focus on her failure to stop a record number of illegal crossings at the southern border in recent years.
But, as reported by The Daily Wire, members of the media have scrambled to reject the “border czar” moniker that they, in some cases, actually used over the years. And White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the label a “false” characterization.
“She was a border czar, which — she doesn’t admit it now,” former President Donald Trump said during a Fox News interview. “You know, the only thing they have now is the media will play off all of the bad things.”
Six House Democrats recently joined with Republicans in condemning Harris as “border czar” and the Biden administration for its inability to curb illegal immigration. This week, the House Oversight Committee embarked on an investigation into the matter.
