Vice President Kamala Harris (D) will visit the border this week, which has divided lawmakers. Since assuming office and becoming the “Border Czar,” Republicans have chided her record while Democrats have praised it. As the vice president heads to the border, Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D) is praising her but is also noting that Democrats and Republicans are to blame for the “border crisis.”
In an exclusive interview with The Floridian, Rep. Moskowitz was asked to share his thoughts on Vice President Harris’ scheduled visit to the border. Some Republicans argue that the vice president is trying to compensate for lost time. Rep. Moskowitz suggests to the critics that they’re being hypocritical.
“I’m glad she’s going to the border. I think it’s a wise decision,” Rep. Moskowitz said.
“It’s somewhat hypocritical of my colleagues to talk about not doing anything on the border when there was a Republican-led drafted bipartisan bill that they wouldn’t even take up here for a vote in the House,” said Rep. Moskowitz.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz
Suggesting that the bill would have “fixed a lot of these border issues” and that it “was endorsed by the border patrol,”Rep. Moskowtiz reiterated that he appreciates that the vice president will be at the border this week.
Given that the border issue existed long before the immigration bill was voted on, Rep. Moskowitz commented that “the border issue has existed for two decades.”
“Barack Obama did more deportations than Donald Trump, so this an issue that we’ve been grappling with – Democrats and Republicans – and if we want to solve it, we’re only gonna solve it together,” he added.
“Continuing to use it as a political football is not gonna solve the border issue," said Moskowitz of both Republican and Democrat members of Congress.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) was similarly asked about Vice President Harris’ visit to the border, and he shared that her “failed” job as the “Border Czar” is “a metaphor for how she would fail at every other aspect of leading the country.”
“The fact that she is just now arriving at the border shows that she didn’t even care about what was her principally assigned job,” said Rep. Mast.
When asked to comment on the suggestion that Republican bear some responsibility over the “Border Crisis,” the Florida Republican dismissed the argument.
The Floridian also spoke to Rep. Matt Gaetz about Harris' upcoming trip to the border.
“All Kamala Harris and Joe Biden would need to do is reinstitute the Trump policy on ‘Remain in Mexico,’ ‘Title 42,’ ‘Safe Third Country,’” added Rep. Gaetz. “If we did that, we would stop this problem, but they actually want the problem to persist.
“It’s not a matter of not understanding the right tool to use. They actually want the border to be open because they want the millions of illegals in," added Rep. Gaetz.
