Rep Mo Brooks calls Nancy Pelosi State of the Union cancellation unprecedented and radical
Republican Congressman Mo Brooks released a statement Wednesday in the wake of Speaker Nancy Pelosi telling President Donald Trump that the House would not authorize a State of the Union speech while the government was shut down. In the statement, Brooks called Pelosi’s action “unprecedented” and “radical.” It read, in part, “Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s first-time-in-history cancellation of a president’s State of the Union address shows how radical and hyper-partisan the Democrats have become and undermines bipartisanship at a time America needs it the most. This unprecedented attempt to muffle the President may appease the radical, Socialist base of the Democrat Party, but it hurts America and symbolizes how dysfunctional a Socialist Democrat House of Representatives has made Washington.” Brooks also reintroduced the EL CHAPO (Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order Act) Wednesday, a companion to a bill introduced by Ted Cruz in the Senate. This legislation would set aside $14 billion forfeited to the United States as a result of prosecuting drug cartel leaders including El Chapo, and using those funds to build the border wall. In a statement, Brooks said this would help to end the shutdown. “Congress should end the shutdown by passing the EL CHAPO Act that, over time, funds border security and a border wall by using billions of dollars in seized drug and blood money profits from drug cartels and drug lords and reapplying those drug forfeiture monies to border security and construction of a border wall.” Should the shutdown continue, the Congressman has suggested another solution. Last week, Brooks was one of several members of Congress who proposed the speech be moved to the Senate. At that time, he said “I most strongly encourage Vice-President Mike Pence, in his Constitutional capacity as the presiding officer of the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to invite President Trump to report to the American people on the state of the union in the Senate Chamber. While traditionally these addresses have been held in the House Chamber due to its larger size, inasmuch as House Democrats apparently do not want to hear from the President anyway, overcrowding of the Senate chamber should not be an issue. I urge President Trump, Vice-President Pence (as President of the Senate), and Leader McConnell to maintain January 29, 2019 as the date on which President Trump can address the American people from the Senate Chamber, thus putting President Trump with our first president, George Washington, who also gave his first State of the Union address in the Capitol’s Senate Chamber.”
Mo Brooks wants El Chapo drug fortune to pay for U.S.-Mexico border wall
Who needs Mexico to pay for the border wall when you have El Chapo? That’s the latest funding idea to build the 1,000 mile-long (1600km) barrier between the U.S. and Mexico from Alabama 5th District U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and his Senate colleague Texas-Republican Ted Cruz. On Thursday, Brooks filed companion House legislation to a bill that Cruz recently introduced in the Senate. H.R. 2186, the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (EL CHAPO) Act, would reserve approximately $14 billion in potential assets forfeited to the United States Government as a result of the criminal prosecution of Joaquin Guzman (aka El Chapo), the former leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel, as well as other drug lords, for border security funding – to include the completion of the wall along the U.S.- Mexican border. Brooks, a long-time immigration advocate who has called for the deportation of all illegal immigrants says the bill is a “significant step” toward funding President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall. “No nation can exist without borders and the EL CHAPO Act, which would reserve billions in assets forfeited to the U.S. Government by drug kingpins to be used for border security, is a significant step towards funding President Trump’s border wall, thereby restoring America’s control of her borders,” Brooks said in a press release. “I commend Senator Cruz for sponsoring this financially responsible solution which promotes American security by minimizing the trafficking of drugs and weapons across our southern border.” Cruz echoed Brooks’ sentiments. “Ensuring the safety and security of Texans and all Americans is one of my top priorities and I am glad to work with Mo in this important effort,” said Cruz. “Fourteen billion dollars will go a long way toward building a wall that will keep Americans safe and hinder the illegal flow of drugs, weapons, and individuals across our southern border. El Chapo is currently facing charges in the U.S. after having famously escaped twice from prison in Mexico. He faces a 17-count indictment in the U.S. related to narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and murder. “By leveraging any criminally forfeited assets of El Chapo and his ilk, we can offset the wall’s cost and make meaningful progress toward achieving President Trump’s stated border security objectives, all while easing the impact on our federal budget,” Cruz added. Brooks’ House colleagues Reps. Kevin Brady (TX-08), Tom Garrett (VA-05), Steve King (IA-04) and Louie Gohmert (TX-01) all signed on as original cosponsors of the EL CHAPO Act.
