An effort to mandate background checks for congressional staffers is facing bipartisan pushback, according to Congresswoman Kat Cammack.
The Florida Republican, who is serving her third term in the House, discussed her <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-resolution/500/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> that aims to require background checks conducted by the U.S. Capitol Police with The Daily Wire&#8217;s Mary Margaret Olohan on Tuesday.
&#8220;I think the American people deserve to know who&#8217;s working on their behalf,&#8221; Cammack said. &#8220;It&#8217;s pretty simple, but you would not believe the resistance that we&#8217;re getting.&#8221;
Cammack, who introduced the measure last month, said the opposition is coming from both Republicans and Democrats.
&#8220;I think that &#8230; speaks to all the more reason why we need to have these background checks in place. Why would you not want to know who is working in your office?&#8221; the congresswoman added.
The resolution stipulates that background checks must be conducted within 30 days of employment or a new Congress, with the results disclosed only to office heads.
Additionally, the measure requires employees to publicly report any foreign government payments or contracts from the past three years and their foreign citizenship status within 30 days of starting, effective from the current 119th Congress.
Cammack asserted that it is &#8220;known&#8221; that Chinese spies and people with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Republican senators are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cruz-introduces-bill-to-name-muslim-brotherhood-a-terrorist-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushing</a> to designate as a terrorist organization, have infiltrated the offices of lawmakers.
&#8220;It is absolutely remarkable the amount of foreign interference and influence that is in the halls of Congress today,&#8221; said the congresswoman.
As it stands, House staffers are only required to have background checks when they go through the process of obtaining a security clearance, Cammack said when she first <a href="https://x.com/RepKatCammack/status/1933258233382137965" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the resolution in June.
In her conversation with The Daily Wire, Cammack emphasized that she is trying to set an example for her colleagues, noting that she already conducts background checks on her staff.
&#8220;If someone wants to have someone in their team that had maybe a previous record, that&#8217;s entirely their prerogative,&#8221; Cammack said.
She added, &#8220;When it comes to foreign interference, when it comes to dual citizenship, when it comes to having ties to organizations that have terrorist funding, you should know, and the American people should know.&#8221;

Rep. Kat Cammack

Kat Cammack Is Fighting Both Parties To Mandate Background Checks For Congressional Staffers

Congress

Kat Cammack

Politics

U.S.

U.S. House of Representatives

Republican lawmakers are rallying behind a resolution from Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) that would prohibit members from bringing or displaying foreign flags on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> floor.
The proposed ban comes after Democrats <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/20/us/politics/house-foreign-aid-bill.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">waved</a> small Ukrainian flags on the House floor when the chamber <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-95-billion-spending-package-for-ukraine-israel-and-taiwan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> a $95 billion foreign aid package that allocated <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-passes-95-billion-foreign-aid-package-with-possible-tiktok-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$61 billion</a> toward boosting Ukraine in its war against Russia and giving assistance to regional partners.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Last Saturday, out-of-touch politicians sent tens of billions of your taxpayer dollars to Ukraine and rubbed it in our faces.
Members of Congress should never wave the flag of another nation on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. <a href="https://t.co/Zw4Wu0JOEE">pic.twitter.com/Zw4Wu0JOEE</a>
&mdash; Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDonaldsPress/status/1783866736875327509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;On the floor of the United States House of Representatives, there should only be one flag on display: ours,&#8221; Cammack <a href="https://cammack.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-cammack-introduces-resolution-prohibit-members-bringing-or-displaying" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;We make serious decisions on behalf of the American people and their taxpayer dollars on the House floor.&#8221;
She continued, &#8220;This business should be carried out beneath no other banner than our stars and stripes to remind us of who we represent and why this nation is the greatest in the history of the world. I&#8217;m glad to have earned the support of dozens of my colleagues who join me in standing up for the American people and putting our nation before all others.&#8221;
According to the <a href="https://cammack.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/cammack.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/CAMMAC_076_FlagRes_xml.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a>, members would not be allowed to bring or display the flag of any foreign nation on the floor while the House is in session. Enforcement would be handled by the House sergeant-at-arms. Two exceptions are listed: members wearing a lapel pin showing the flag of a foreign nation and depicting foreign flags as part of an exhibit by members during a speech or debate under House rules.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/RepKatCammack?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepKatCammack</a> officially introduced her resolution to ban displaying foreign flags on the House floor. <a href="https://t.co/uryPlLpsse">pic.twitter.com/uryPlLpsse</a>
&mdash; Juliegrace Brufke (@juliegraceb) <a href="https://twitter.com/juliegraceb/status/1783874019709559049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
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It was not immediately clear whether the resolution would get a vote, but Cammack&#8217;s office said it had dozens of co-sponsors at the time of introduction, including Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Byron Donalds (R-FL).
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&#8220;The United States House of Representatives works for one body and one country. It is unacceptable for a Member to be waving any flag on the House floor that is not the American flag. I appreciate the leadership of Rep. Cammack on this issue,&#8221; Bice said in a statement.
Donalds condemned &#8220;out-of-touch politicians&#8221; who &#8220;sent tens of billions of your taxpayer dollars to Ukraine and rubbed it in our faces.&#8221; He added, &#8220;Members of Congress should never wave the flag of another nation on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. I proudly stand with Rep. Cammack to ensure that disgraceful acts like this never occur again. Our government must put the American people first.&#8221;

Representative Kat Cammack

Republican Proposes Banning Foreign Flags On House Floor

Byron Donalds

flags

Ukraine

During a hearing on Wednesday, one Republican lawmaker confronted a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration">Biden administration</a> Cabinet secretary with a jar filled with colorful contents.
It was not full of &#8220;candies or snacks,&#8221; as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/health-and-human-services">Health and Human Services</a> (HHS) Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xavier-becerra">Xavier Becerra</a> had guessed. Rather, as Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kat-cammack">Kat Cammack</a> (R-FL) explained while holding the jar, what it contained represented a far more &#8220;grim&#8221; reality.
&#8220;These are wristbands that the cartels force people to wear when they cross the border, and if you&#8217;re not wearing one and you cross the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/border-crisis">border</a>, the cartels will take a limb or an appendage,&#8221; Cammack said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Rep. Cammack: Do you see this jar? 
Sec. Becerra: It looks like candies or snacks. 
Rep. Cammack: These are wristbands the cartels force people to wear when they cross the border. If you&#39;re not wearing one when you cross, the cartels will take a limb, like an arm or leg. <a href="https://t.co/QSB5dFyAf7">pic.twitter.com/QSB5dFyAf7</a>
&mdash; Rep. Cammack Press Office (@RepKatCammack) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepKatCammack/status/1684241692474454041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;This is what these people are forced to wear and it dictates what cartel they belong to, how much they have paid and they are absolutely a part of the horrors of trafficking and smuggling that occurs at our Southwest border,&#8221; Cammack added. &#8220;And I have to point this out because I want to tell the journey because this has really been laid out in bits and pieces along the way by my colleagues and we&#8217;re here to talk about these kids.&#8221;
The jar moment went viral on social media, with comments from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and others.
&#8220;Astonishing — but not at all a surprise,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/SenTedCruz/status/1684261974647926784">Cruz said on the X platform</a>. &#8220;Earlier this year during a Senate Judiciary hearing, DHS Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas denied knowing about the cartel wristbands found at the border. This is the latest example of the Biden administration turning a blind eye to the human trafficking crisis taking place at our southern border.&#8221;
<a href="https://d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/07_26_23_Becerra_Testimony_E_and_C_Oversight_Hearing_c76ba8ed58.pdf">In his testimony</a> for a House subcommittee <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/events/oversight-and-investigations-subcommittee-hearing-stopping-the-exploitation-of-migrant-children-oversight-of-hhs-office-of-refugee-resettlement">hearing</a> on “Stopping the Exploitation of Migrant Children: Oversight of HHS&#8217; Office of Refugee Resettlement,&#8221; Becerra talked about what happens when young people who are transferred to <a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/programs/uc">HHS care</a> from the Department of Homeland Security or any other federal entity are then released to a sponsor. Becerra stressed that the sponsors of unaccompanied minors are &#8220;thoroughly vetted,&#8221; but conceded the children &#8220;may find themselves in unsafe situations.&#8221;
Challenging the secretary to define what &#8220;thoroughly vetted&#8221; means, Cammack shared the story of a young migrant girl she encountered who was &#8220;terrified&#8221; of the man holding her, as seen in a photo the congresswoman showed. That man, Cammack said, later confessed under threat of a DNA test to &#8220;renting&#8221; the child in a process called &#8220;recycling&#8221; and turned out to be a convicted sex offender.
Cammack said many migrant children end up having the same phone number written on their arm in sharpie and dozens of them &#8220;magically&#8221; end up with the same sponsor. HHS releases these children, she added, to sponsors who are in the country illegally.
When given a chance to respond, Becerra pushed back, saying the congresswoman shared &#8220;misinformation&#8221; and insisted that officials run a &#8220;series of tests and assessments of a child when we get them.&#8221;
To Cammack, the secretary&#8217;s response appeared to be insufficient as she figures such as DNA tests only being conducted in 9% of cases and background checks in 23% of cases. &#8220;I think this is disgusting that 85,000 children are missing, and it&#8217;s on your watch,&#8221; she added as her time to speak expired.

GOP Lawmaker Confronts Biden Official With Jar Of Wristbands Showing ‘Grim’ Reality At Border

GOP Lawmaker Confronts Biden Official With Jar Of Wristbands Showing 'Grim' Reality At Border

Border Crisis

Cartels

Human Trafficking

Migrants

Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) called Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg a liar for claiming the Biden administration had “acted from day one after the recall” of baby formula.
On Sunday, Buttigieg <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/full-transcript-of-face-the-nation-on-may-15-2022/">stated</a> on CBS’ “Face The Nation,” “The administration acted from day one after the recall, taking steps like creating more flexibility for the WIC program to help rebalance the availability of formula in the States.”
Appearing on Fox Business’ “Mornings With Maria,” Cammack <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/pete-buttigieg-baby-formula-shortage-lie-kat-cammack">fired</a>, “To the Secretary of Transportation&#8217;s remarks that they have been on top of this from day one: That is a lie.”
Cammack pointed out that she had been criticized after she posted text messages and photos she said were sent from Border Patrol agents showing a stockpile of baby formula intended for illegal immigrants.
“Yesterday I was on the border myself, and the facts on the border are exactly how we have been stating them,” she asserted. “I decided to go down myself and film it. Lo and behold, not only was there stocked warehouses, but there were multiple stocked warehouses that have been not only filled with baby formula and diapers and wipes and clothing, but they have been doing this for months and there&#8217;s more en route.”
Federal law details that children in custody be provided with food, including baby formula.
Referring to Buttigieg’s claim that the administration had “acted from day one,” she snapped, “They canceled 43% of this manufacturer&#8217;s production with no plan to backfill that market share that they make up. So, how have they been on top of this?”
“Moms for months have been saying it was getting harder and harder to find formula,” she pointed out. “This is just another example of the broken administration that doesn&#8217;t know how to govern.”
Cammack showed pictures and videos from her trip to the facility at the border. “One image showed mounds of infant formula featuring handwritten dates, likely to denote expiration, of June 2023,” <a href="applewebdata://18D869DF-BCF2-404C-8178-9A807F2B23EE/v">The Daily Mail</a> reported.
Buttigieg had blamed Abbott Nutrition for the formula shortage, complaining, “Fundamentally, we are here because a company was not able to guarantee that its plant was safe, and that plant has shut down.”
“Let&#8217;s be very clear,” he continued. “This is a capitalist country. The government does not make baby formula, nor should it. Companies make formula, and one of those companies — a company which, by the way, seems to have 40 percent market share — messed up and is unable to confirm that a plant, a major plant, is safe and free of contamination.”
&nbsp;

pjimage

GOP Rep. Who Showed Baby Formula Stocked At Border For Illegals Calls Buttigieg A Liar

baby formula

Biden Administration

Border

Pete Buttigieg

Amid a nationwide shortage of baby formula, a Republican lawmaker is claiming that illegal immigrants detained by the border patrol are being given priority over Americans.
Republican Rep. Kat Cammack (FL) posted videos on social media as she claimed the Biden administration is shipping “pallets” of baby formula to border facilities.
“They are sending pallets, pallets of baby formula to the border,” Cammack said in <a class="Link" href="https://www.facebook.com/KatCammack">online postings</a> on Wednesday. “Meanwhile, in our own district at home, we cannot find baby formula,” she added, displaying a photo that showed empty store shelves.
Cammack said a border agent has been sending her photos of the deliveries of baby formula. “They’re receiving pallets and more pallets of baby formula at the border,” she said. “This was taken at Ursula processing facility [in McAllen, Texas] where thousands are being housed and processed and then released,” she said.
She said in one message the border agent told her, “‘Kat, you would not believe the shipment I just brought in.’ He has been a border patrol agent for 30 years and he has never seen anything quite like this. He is a grandfather and he is saying that his own children can&#8217;t get baby formula.”
“I don&#8217;t know about you, but if I am a mother, anywhere, anytime in America, and I go to my local Walmart or Target or Publix or Safeway or Kroger or wherever it may be that you shop and you are seeing bare shelves and you are seeing signs that you are not able to get baby formula. And then you see the American government sending by the pallet thousands and thousands of containers of baby formula to the border, that would make my blood boil,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;I am so angry about this,&#8221; she added. &#8220;It is not the children&#8217;s fault at all. But what is infuriating to me is that this is another example of the America last agenda that the Biden administration continues to perpetuate.”
The baby formula shortage has forced some parents to drive hours in often futile searches, and the situation might get worse.
&#8220;The problem, rooted in the tight supply chain, is exacerbated by a production halt at an Abbott Nutrition facility in Michigan,&#8221; CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/11/us/baby-formula-shortage-parental-stress/index.html">reported</a>. &#8220;Abbott is seeking to restart the plant after it recalled three popular brands of powdered infant formula in February following reports four infants who ate formula manufactured at the facility got sick with rare infections caused by Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria and died.&#8221;
A Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) spokesperson said &#8220;CBP takes seriously its legal responsibility to ensure the safety and security of individuals in our custody. Ensuring migrants, including children and infants, in our custody have their basic needs met is in line with this Administration’s commitment to ensuring safe, orderly, and humane processes at our border. CBP complies with all applicable regulations for the purchase of products used in CBP facilities.&#8221;
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

A nearly empty baby formula display shelf is seen at a

Amid Nationwide Shortage, Illegal Immigrants Get Baby Formula First, Lawmaker Claims

Amid Nationwide Shortage, Illegal Immigrants At U.S. Border Get Baby Formula First, Rep. Kat Cammack Claims

baby formula shortage

Border Patrol

Illegal Immigration

After traveling to the southern border with other Republican members of Congress and seeing the humanitarian crisis in person, Florida Rep. Kat Cammack (R) blasted President Biden, referring to him as the “Trafficker-in-Chief” and saying she “can&#8217;t even in good conscience call President Biden ‘president.’”
Fox News’ “The Story” host Martha MacCallum asked Cammack, “You hear Congresswoman (Veronica) Escobar (D-TX) saying there’s a better way to do this; do you agree with her on that?”
“There&#8217;s a better way to do this,” Cammack replied. “It&#8217;s what the Trump administration was doing. It was the most humane, compassionate and normal way for putting Americans first, our national security first. And I would challenge Representative Escobar to actually call this what it is, a crisis. It&#8217;s not a situation. This is a crisis. Just 24 hours ago I was there in Mission, Texas, and I saw firsthand young girls under the age of 10 that had been gang-raped. They had been screaming so loud that their vocal cords had given out. This is a humanitarian crisis. And I can&#8217;t even in good conscience call President Biden ‘president,’ I have to call him ‘trafficker-in-chief’ because these kids are being trafficked.”
“And the fact that my Democrat colleagues won&#8217;t even call this a situation that is a crisis?” she continued. “They have to call it anything but: it&#8217;s a ‘challenge,’ it’s a ‘situation.’ It&#8217;s not an emergency in their book; it’s a &#8216;situation.&#8217; When you have 20,000 children in custody and the border patrol agents are stretched thin to the max and we’re watching cartel members taunt our border patrol agents as they&#8217;re sending these children under six years old across the river by themselves, this is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. And so, let&#8217;s start by calling it what it is. But beyond that, we need to reinstate the MPP, the Migrant Protection Protocol. We need to extend Title 45. These are all things that are going to help border patrol agents on the ground and actually deliver a humane response to this crisis that&#8217;s unfolding. That&#8217;s where we can start.”
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Among the Trump immigration policies that Biden has reversed is the &#8220;remain in Mexico&#8221; policy, which required immigrants to remain in Mexico while undergoing the legal process to enter the U.S. Biden also immediately shut down building the border wall and has imposed policies that have reduced deportations and arrest by immigration authorities.
“Last month, 170,200 migrants were apprehended crossing the southern border illegally,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9452343/Florida-Rep-Kat-Cammack-says-Joe-Biden-trafficker-chief-border-crisis.html">The Daily Mail</a> reported. &#8220;March also saw the most migrant children crossing the border in history, with 18,890 unaccompanied minors being taken into cramped shelters. The previous record was around 11,000 back in May 2019.”
On Thursday, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise stated on Fox &amp; Friends, “&#8217;I&#8217;ve talked to a lot of people that have been on the ground, it is beyond a disaster. What they&#8217;ve done not only to these border towns, the mayors, you hear them, Democrat and Republican, expressing outrage over what President Biden created.”

President Biden Delivers Remarks On Gun Violence Prevention From White House Rose Garden

WATCH: ‘Trafficker-in-Chief’: GOP Rep Who Visited Border Rips Biden

Joe Biden

Southern Border