House Homeland Republicans had a field trip and it worked out pretty good for them, but not so much for Secretary Mayorkas.
During a previous hearing, Mayorkas had testified that we had operational control of the border.
Border boss Ortiz testified during the on-location hearing in McAllen, TX, saying the complete opposite, reports The Hill.
No
With one word, Ortiz put Mayorkas in a very bad spot.
Ortiz was asked if the department had operational control of the border, and he answered very honestly.
He was then played the audio of a previous hearing where Mayorkas was asked the same question and responded in the affirmative.
When he was asked if Ortiz was lying, he tried to explain that the mission of the department has shifted, but the chair of the committee, respectfully, cut him off and told him it was a yes or no question.
Ortiz finally admitted that as defined, no, we do not have control right now, reports Fox News.
After Ortiz testified, Chairman Mark Green stated, "I knew that he was the kind of guy who would shoot straight and be honest. And we prepared, so we did our homework, and we were prepared. I think you put the two together, and you got what we got, which is some pretty earth-shattering stuff."
He added, "I think we want to talk to all the sector chiefs, but certainly the five that are struggling with the overflow right now and get their perspectives. And then at some point, Secretary Mayorkas is going to have to come and answer the question – did he lie to Congress, or is he just ignorant about the definition in the code on what defines operational security?"
Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) added, "Chief Ortiz is to be commended for walking a fine line, as one of my other colleagues said, of being respectful of the political hierarchy, but also telling the truth and saying enough is enough.
"It was about time. I'm grateful that somebody had the courage to tell the truth about that."
I cannot wait to see them get Mayorkas back in the hot seat now!
