Members of Congress react to Trump speech
UPDATE: U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., released a video on YouTube with comments he made Wednesday on the Senate floor about border security.
ORIGINAL: U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler stood Wednesday with President Donald Trump after Trump’s national prime time address on the need for funding to build a wall on the southern border.
On @POTUS‘s speech last night, I agree: open borders have caused lives of loved ones to be stolen, women & children to be victimized by traffickers, & drugs to be leaked into MO communities. Submitting to the status quo is hurting our American way of life & it can’t continue.
— Rep. Vicky Hartzler (@RepHartzler) January 9, 2019
“The President is right: we must prioritize border security,” Hartzler said in an emailed statement. “Open borders have caused the lives of loved ones to be stolen, women and children to be victimized by traffickers, and drugs to be leaked into our Missouri communities. Submitting to the status quo is hurting our American way of life, and it cannot continue.”
Trump in a televised speech Tuesday night appealed to the country to support his proposal for the wall, citing an immigration crisis. Funding for the wall is at the heart of a partial government shutdown that has gone on for weeks.
Democrats were allowed television time immediately after Trump’s speech, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., accusing the president of manufacturing the crisis.
Missouri’s newly sworn in U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, posted on Twitter in reaction to Schumer and Pelosi, accusing Democrats of having supported “barriers at the border” in the past and questioning why they don’t support them now.
.@chuckschumer & @SpeakerPelosi say wall is immoral. But Dems have supported barriers at border in the past. Why the change now? Sounds like partisan politics to me. When did liberals start caring more about protecting illegals than protecting American workers?
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 9, 2019
U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, tweeted in support of Trump’s speech, as well.
President Trump’s mission to thwart illegal immigration, gang violence, crime, drugs & human trafficking is in the best interest of all Americans. I support @POTUS mission to secure our border & keep our citizens safe.
I hope my colleagues will keep our promise #SecureOurBorder
— Blaine Luetkemeyer (@RepBlaine) January 9, 2019
