WASHINGTON— U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw (R) is sharply criticizing Congress for failing to take real action against Mexican cartels, calling the current efforts “bogus” and accusing members of prioritizing talking points over actual work.
“It’s very hard to get members of Congress to actually give a damn about this,” Rep. Crenshaw said in an interview with Texas Politics. “They say they do, but they won’t go to Mexico, they won’t travel, they won’t work on the issue, they won’t learn about it.”
Crenshaw pointed to the House task force on the cartels, which he says exists in name only.
“We have no staff for it. The members won’t [staff it]… It’s just me doing the work. That’s what it’s always been — just me and my staff doing the work,” he said. “And I’m calling them out on it now.”
He expressed frustration that even when travel to Mexico was proposed, members refused to commit.
“The four members on it, I can’t even get them to agree on dates to travel to Mexico City. It’s a two-hour flight from Houston,” he said.
Crenshaw emphasized that because no single committee owns the cartel issue, the responsibility falls through the cracks.
“No one committee owns this problem. Everybody loves to use it in their talking points—nobody wants to actually do the work,” he said. “I’m doing the work for them.”
Although Crenshaw said he developed a strategy and worked through the Intelligence Committee, he noted the lack of bipartisan support.
“We had a cartel task force for a year before this fake one that we have now,” he said. “Andy Biggs (R) showed up a lot — I appreciate his involvement. That’s about it.”
Surprisingly, Crenshaw acknowledged that only Democrats have made the effort to visit Mexico.
“[Vincente] Gonzalez (D) actually came to Mexico with me. Lou Correa (D) came last week. Only Democrats have actually gone to Mexico. That’s the truth.”
He concluded by pushing for legislation that would authorize U.S. support for a Mexican counterterrorism operation, including helicopters, air support, and DOJ coordination.
“But, you know, eventually, though, we got to actually passed some legislation that. funds and authorizes what the Trump administration is going to need.” Crenshaw Said. “and what they're going to need is support for a Mexican counterterrorism operation.”
Crenshaw is calling out Congress for inaction and urging immediate, concrete steps to combat cartel violence.
