In a humiliating exchange, a woke representative began ranting and raging during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in 2019 after President Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, clashed with her over the subject of illegal immigration and the increasing use of ICE detention centers as a solution for migrant crime.
For context, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who was the Vice Chairwoman of the House Judiciary Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee, went off on Homan during a hearing on September 26, 2019, that focused on ICE’s practices after Homan exceeded his alotted speaking time, resulting in a tense exchange between the two.
In response to the call-out from Rep. Jayapal, Homan explained that ICE detention centers were used prior to President Trump’s first term, saying, “I’d like to remind you, under the Obama Administration, we did that most of the years he was president. I don’t remember any hearings on that. Congress was quick to give us all the money we needed.”
Responding, Rep. Jayapal simply said, “I didn’t like it under the Obama Administration either,” to which Homan responded, telling Rep. Jayapal that it would be hypocritical to criticize President Trump while absolving Obama. Homan said, “That’s dishonesty. It’s pathetic and it’s sad.”
After these comments from Homan, the exchange became heated, with Rep. Jayapal harkening back to Homan’s support of the Obama Administration’s Priority Enforcement Program (PEP). Homan asked if he could respond, to which Rep. Jayapal snarkily replied, “No, you may not.” Homan shot back, “No, of course not.”
Undeterred, Homan moved on to defend ICE’s work, describing the use of detention centers as justified and saying, “Look, you want to know why there’s 50,000 people in detention? You want to know why there are a million illegal entries into the United States? You want to know why we have these issues? Because you have failed to secure the border.”
Continuing, Homan criticized Rep. Jayapal and other leftists for their unwillingness to comply with President Trump’s border agenda during his first term. Homan said, “You guys failed to work with this president to close the three loopholes we asked for two years to close.” Rep. Jayapal then interjected, slamming her gavel, to which Homan replied, “This is a circus.”
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Nearing the end of his statement, Homan was chastised by Rep. Jayapal, who told him to “respect the chair and the authority of the chair. The time of the gentleman has expired.” Homan shot back, “I’m a taxpayer. You work for me! I’m a taxpayer.” Rep. Jayapal responded by, once again, slamming her gavel. Later, the liberal representative was reportedly called out for speaking out of turn when Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) told her to bring the hearing to a close and said, “I wish the committee chair right now would recognize the fact that she’s supposed to be calling this committee. There’s not five minutes extra.”
Watch the heated exchange:
Featured image credit: screenshot from the embedded video