At today's Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) questioned DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
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00:00I need a little help from a chair that respects the members of the committee.
00:03Madam Secretary.
00:04I'm sorry, Chair, this is.
00:07You pretty much secured the southern border, haven't you?
00:11Yes, sir.
00:11The CBP, the president have.
00:14And that upsets some of my colleagues, doesn't it?
00:18They say you've done it the wrong way, haven't they?
00:22Could you answer that?
00:23Yes, sir.
00:24They do say that.
00:25Do you think they're upset because you supposedly did it the wrong way?
00:34Or do you think they're upset that you did it at all?
00:36I think they're upset that by President Trump enforcing the law, it happened so quickly and successfully.
00:42Yeah.
00:43Now, when President Biden came into office, the first thing he did was get rid of all of the things we were doing
00:53to stop people from coming into our country illegally, didn't he?
00:58Yes.
01:00I mean, it was like the price is right.
01:02Come on down.
01:04Except he said, come on in.
01:08And most of my Democratic colleagues went along with that, didn't they?
01:14Yes, they did.
01:16In fact, they cheered him on, didn't they?
01:19Is that a yes?
01:20Yes, sir.
01:21How many people do you think President Biden let into our country illegally?
01:28Just give me a ballpark figure.
01:30Sir, we don't know for certain, but we believe it could be upwards to 20 million people that are illegally in this country.
01:36So that's like adding 10 Nebraskas to our country, isn't it?
01:42That's correct.
01:42Why do you think President Biden and my Democratic colleagues did that?
01:50Do you think they believe in open borders?
01:52I think they believed in open borders and letting people come into this country that would affect our society and criminals.
02:02Those other countries emptying out the worst of the worst, their mental institutions, their prisons came in here and jeopardize and known terrorists.
02:10Well, only one or two circumstances are possible.
02:14It seems to me either President Biden and the Democrats who supported him believe in open borders are the people that President Biden put in charge of securing the border.
02:26However, you wouldn't trust to run a snowball stand, right?
02:30That is correct.
02:31So nobody is that incompetent.
02:34So it has to be, they just believe in open borders, do they not?
02:40Yes, because I know the people who were securing the border and they weren't allowed to do their job.
02:44Do you think they believe that vetting people at the border is racist?
02:50Yes, I do.
02:51I think by the way they allowed people in and granted them immediate parole status.
02:55Do you think that President Biden and some of my Democratic colleagues, I don't want to paint with too broad a brush, Madam Secretary, thought of these foreign nationals in our country illegally as potential new voters?
03:09I do, sir.
03:11Okay.
03:11If you're an ordinary American and you oppose illegal immigration, but you support legal immigration, does that make you a racist?
03:27No, sir.
03:29No, sir.
03:30Not at all.
03:31It just means that you believe there should be a rule of law, and that's what America was built on.
03:35And that's what you've been enforcing, right?
03:38Exactly.
03:38We have been following the Constitution and the rule of law in this country.
03:42And I want to be sure I understand, because there's been a lot of confusing testimony here.
03:49You've secured the border, have you not?
03:52This administration has, yes, sir.
03:55And some of my colleagues are upset with you.
03:59Yes, sir.
04:00And they say you did it wrong.
04:02Yes, sir.
04:04And do you agree with me that what they're really upset about is that you did it at all?
04:08Yes, sir.
04:09Okay.
04:10I want to ask you a last question about our federal judiciary.
04:16I've said repeatedly that all of us has a moral and a civic obligation to follow federal orders, and I stand by that.
04:25But there have been a lot of national injunctions, universal injunctions issued to try to stop you from doing your job.
04:37Where were these judges when people were breaking the law and coming into our country illegally?
04:46Were any of them speaking up and issuing national injunctions against the Democrats?
04:51I don't believe I can be specific about every single judge, but these judges that now are trying to stop us from enforcing our laws, I don't believe or recall them.
05:02Can you think, Madam Secretary, of one single solitary federal judge who, when President Biden and my Democratic colleagues, not all of them, but many of them.
05:14Gentleman's time has expired.
05:15Well, Secretary, or Senator Murray, went on over about two minutes, so I'm going to take a minute.
05:22Well, Senator Van Hollen just got shut down.
05:24Yes, if you can finish your question.
05:26Can you recall one single solitary federal judge when President Biden and my Democratic colleagues were letting 20 million people come into the country illegally?
05:39I don't recall.
05:40Can you think of one single solitary judge issued a national injunction to stop them?
05:45No, I can't recall one.
05:47I can't either.
05:48If there weren't for double standards for Adam Chair, there wouldn't be any standards at all, Madam Secretary.
05:54Thank you, Senator Kennedy.
05:55Senator Peters.
05:57Madam, let me just say, let's apply the rules fairly.
06:02Senator Van Hollen was asking tough questions but was shut down pretty immediately when his time was expired.
06:07Can we at least have a commitment, Madam Chair, that senators on this committee will be allowed to submit questions for the record?
06:13Absolutely.
06:14And that you will ask the secretary to answer those questions?