Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) railed against the inadequacies of President Joe Biden (D) and his administration’s policy concerning the southern border. Recent figures from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) demonstrated that 169 people on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) watchlist have been arrested at the border, with 18 of them coming in September alone.
The Florida congressman blasted President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris (D) for the spike in numbers.
In the last month alone, CBP arrested 18 people on the FBI’s terror watchlist at the southern border, bringing the total number of potential terrorists to 169 for FY23.
If that doesn't scare you enough, there have been approximately 1.6 million known “gotaways” who have entered…
— Rep. Vern Buchanan (@VernBuchanan) October 23, 2023
“In the last month alone, CBP arrested 18 people on the FBI’s terror watchlist at the southern border, bringing the total number of potential terrorists to 169 for FY23. If that doesn't scare you enough, there have been approximately 1.6 million known ‘gotaways’ who have entered our country illegally since Biden took office,” said Rep. Buchanan. “And those are just the ones we know about! President Biden and 'Border Czar' Harris need to secure the border once and for all!”
Moreover, in the new election of a Speaker of the House, Rep. Buchanan was only one of two Republicans to vote for Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) in the third round of voting.
Why is this important?
First, Rep. Donalds was nominated for the Speakership in several rounds of voting in January during Representative Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) eventual election process. He received 20 votes in multiple instances from the Freedom Caucus, which includes names such as Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Chip Roy (R-TX), and the like.
Second, when it came to supporting Jim Jordan, Rep. Buchanan was originally on the fence.
Most importantly, now that Rep. Donalds has officially jumped into the Speakership race, the initial support that he received from Republicans like Buchanan could spring him into one of the highest offices in the land.
The Floridian has learned that many, if not all the Florida Republican congressional caucus are backing Donalds’ candidacy for Speaker.
Reps. Michael Waltz, Carlos Gimenez, and Cory Mills have publicly endorsed Donalds.
Former President Donald Trump has announced that he will not support Emmer for Speaker.
President Trump, who is expected to win the Republican presidential nomination, will most likely support Donalds in the race.
Like Rep. Jordan, Donalds has been one of President Trump's staunchest supporters.
