Texas Representative Tony Gonzales (R) appeared on CNN to share his plans to tour the U.S.-Mexico border as well as host several of his GOP colleagues.
“I’m hosting @SpeakerJohnson and my @HouseGOP colleagues in San Antonio tonight and Eagle Pass tomorrow. We’ll hear from Border Patrol, law enforcement, and stakeholders on the ground. Republicans are ready to tackle this crisis,” tweeted Rep. Gonzales.
I’m hosting @SpeakerJohnson and my @HouseGOP colleagues in San Antonio tonight and Eagle Pass tomorrow. We’ll hear from Border Patrol, law enforcement, and stakeholders on the ground.
Republicans are ready to tackle this crisis. pic.twitter.com/T4Ji3OnElN
— Rep. Tony Gonzales (@RepTonyGonzales) January 2, 2024
The Texas congressman detailed his plans by mapping out some of the exact destinations of where he planned to stop. During the trip, Rep. Gonzales has scheduled meetings with several officials who work at the border.
“I will host Speaker Johnson, and I’m expecting at least 60 of my Republican colleagues in a two-day border trip, which will start today in San Antonio, where we will hear from Border Patrol’s number two in charge and give us kind of an update on what’s happening in the Del Rio section but also along the border.”
The GOP representative claimed that the trip will not only include officials but also people who live nearby who have seen the border issue up close. That said, he did not specify how some of the non-officials were chosen.
“And then tomorrow, we’ll travel to Eagle Pass, we’ll meet with people, we’ll meet with sheriffs, we’ll meet with judges, we’ll meet with ranchers, we’ll meet with commissioners, kind of on-the-ground folk seeing it every day, mayors, as well. We’ll visit a couple of border patrol facilities. We’ll meet with DPS.”
Rep. Gonzales stated that he viewed the trip as an opportunity for the House GOP to get focused on actual issues as they head into the new year.
“The goal is for House Republicans to be focused on solutions towards the border as we get into ’24 year, and we start to tackle some of these legislative priorities.”
Republicans have faced scrutiny recently and have been subjected to much infighting. After the controversial “Freedom Caucus” pushed to remove former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R) from office, the House lacked a speaker for two weeks. During that time, Representative Patrick McHenry served as the speaker pro tempore. Several candidates were denied the proper amount of votes to be elected, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R) was eventually selected as speaker.
Since then, several Republicans have either stepped down or stated their intentions to leave Congress after their term ends. Representatives Ken Buck and former speaker Patrick McHenry have both stated their intentions not to seek reelection.
