Mast Engages in Feud in Foreign Affairs Hearing

In a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Representative Brian Mast (R-FL) found himself in a bit of a banter with a Democratic colleague over the border and its security.

Representative Gerry Connolly (D-WV) and Rep. Mast found themselves in a debate surrounding the efficacy of a border wall and whether former President Donald Trump’s efforts have been a failure.

In a blog post concerning the hearing, Rep. Mast found it ironic that the West Virginia representative stated that President Trump had “only” built hundreds of miles of a border wall.

“Since January of this year, there have been nearly 2 million encounters with migrants at the southern border, not to mention hundreds of thousands of ‘gotaways.’  On top of that, tens of thousands of pounds of fentanyl are pouring into our border every year,” said Mast. “During a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee today, a Democrat colleague actually made the point that President Trump’s work on the border wall was a ‘failure’ because he had ‘only’ built hundreds of miles of wall in order to stem the flow of illegal immigration.”

Moreover, Rep. Mast seemed disappointed that he was not able to witness “a Democrat admit the common sense fact” that there should be a barrier along the border.

“I thought it was a rare moment of truth where we would finally have a Democrat admit the common sense fact that there should be a physical barrier on our southern border,” stated Mast. “However, when I pressured him, he cowered back to the Left’s talking points and said it’s ‘not practical,’ and that it ‘wouldn’t work.’”

He concluded, “This is the reality here in Washington, where common sense goes to die.  While President Trump was in office, Democrats in the swamp threw block after block to keep him from constructing a single foot of border wall.  But now they think the American people are dumb enough to believe the hundreds of miles of 30-foot-tall border wall President Trump built - no thanks to them - is ‘an abject failure.’”

Congressman Brian Mast represents the 21^st District of Florida in the U.S. House.