Former Border Patrol chief says he chose retirement rather than work under Biden policies

There has long been a fair bit of tension between the Biden administration and those charged with safeguarding the southern border, and according to the former chief of the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), the animosity grew so serious that he ultimately decided to retire rather than continue in his post, as Fox News reports.

The official at issue, former USBP head Rodney Scott, made the startling claim amid President Joe Biden's recent visit to Brownsville, Texas, a move critics suggest was made to sway public opinion it the administration's favor ahead of the November election.

Candor not appreciated

As Biden prepared to visit one of the least chaotic border areas in the country in what some asserted was little more than a stage-managed photo-op, Scott expressed his hope that the president would really listen to what agents on the ground had to say.

“I hope [agents are] free to speak openly,” Scott began. “But I can tell you from my experience in the Biden administration, that was not the norm.”

Scott continued, “If they speak freely, they'll probably be out of a job,” an apparent reference to his own tenure, which began under then-President Donald Trump and ended during the Biden administration.

“That is exactly what happened to me. I was following orders to a certain extent. But I gave feedback, and I told them where I thought things were going to go wrong,” he said. “And they did not listen to any of the advice we gave them whatsoever.”

Though Scott was subsequently “reassigned,” in the end, he believed the better course of action was to retire in order to make his concerns known to the broader public without putting his livelihood in jeopardy.

All for show

With regard to Biden's journey to Brownsville -- undertaken while Trump headed the far more beleaguered border area near Eagle Pass -- Scott was skeptical.

“It's for the cameras...I hate to get political, but I believe the reason that the Biden administration is down there is if he got that briefing in the White House, there'd be no cameras. There'd be no show.”

Scott was not alone in his take on the situation, with the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) issuing a statement ahead of Biden's Thursday visit that made no secret of members' opinion on his handling of the crisis, as Newsweek noted.

“Attention President Biden: Keep our name out of your mouth today,” the union posted on X.

The social media comment drew the attention of Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), who mused, “President Biden's photo op visit to the border today means nothing after three years of inaction, as the agents serving at our southern border know all too well,” as do millions of Americans poised to go to the polls this fall.