Things got absolutely wild during a Tuesday, June 30 hearing in the United States House of Representatives on sanctuary jurisdictions and immigration policies, as Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) got in an intense verbal feud during that hearing over the matter of sanctuary cities and Rep. Raskin absolutely lost it.
What provoked the feud is that Rep. Lawler, during the Judiciary Committee hearing, decided to go on a tear against Democrats during the hearing and sound of on sanctuary city policies of the sort long present in places like New York and Chicago, which have let illegal immigration rage unchecked for years.
As he did so, insisting all the while that Democrats are providing safe havens for dangerous criminals, Democrat committee members angrily interrupted him and demanded that he introduce the witness rather than make a political statement. Instead of backing down or moving on, Rep. Lawler sounded off on how Democrats apply different standards to victims of violent crime and police action.
Noting that they care about the leftist radicals who were shot while trying to kill ICE agents but not about the innocent Americans who have had their lives taken by illegal aliens, Lawler said, “So while some of my colleagues may not want to hear the truth, the same outrage you feel about Renee Good and Alex Pretti, you should feel about Sheridan Gorman and Laken Riley and every angel family in this country.”
Unconvincingly snapping back at him, Rep. Raskin insisted, “I do feel that outrage!” Rep. Lawler shot him down pretty much immediately, snapping back, “You do not, because if you did, you would not support sanctuary jurisdictions.” Continuing, Lawler called him a disgrace, saying, “You should be ashamed of yourself, Jamie. You’re a disgrace.”
The fight expanded from just being about sanctuary policies, and the shouting got louder. Joining in was Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the ranking member of the committee, who angrily attacked Lawler before demanding that Republican Rep. Tom McClintock, the chair of the Judiciary committee, suspend Lawler’s comments.
But that didn’t work, and the yelling continued. “You don’t belong in this committee. You should get the hell out of here!” Raskin screamed at Rep. Lawler, trying to distract from the point about how Democrat policies have put Americans at risk. He added, “You don’t understand the rules of the committee. You don’t understand the Constitution. You’re full of it!”
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Lawler responded to that by calling out Raskin yet again for how his party is putting Americans at risk and has created the conditions that led to the deaths of many Americans, saying, “You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself for not proposing sanctuary policies that resulted in their daughter’s death.”
Watch them here:
After the screaming ended, Jayapal insisted, “Thanks to Mr. Lawler’s outrageous outburst, we will not allow this to happen again. This was an agreement between the chair and the ranking member. And unfortunately, you’re not able to control your members.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video