"I just want to thank you for making our backyard a priority and ultimately to keep Americans safe. Texans are more safe today than we were a year ago."
– Congressman Tony Gonzales
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tony Gonzales (TX-23) requested an update from Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS), Kristi Noem, on current Coast Guard operations in Venezuela and showed his appreciation for DHS personnel across the agency during the House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on "Worldwide Threats to the Homeland."
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Transcript lightly edited for clarity:
Congressman Gonzales: Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Secretary Noem. Thank you to Director Kent and Director Glasheen for your patriotism and your service to our country. Thank you to the families for allowing everyone to serve. We're grateful for that. Democrats like to show clip after clip. I represent a district that's half of the southern border. Our lives were turned upside down under Joe Biden, and now we have our lives back due to President Trump and due to the policies that y'all are executing. So, thank you. I have one question, if there's time, I think it'd be important for the American people to get an update on the role Coast Guard played in the Venezuela oil tanker seizure. But first, I'd like to, once again, thank you for being here.
And so, I'd like to first thank you, CISA. Thank you for keeping our nation's critical infrastructure safe. You're our nation's cyber first responders.
Thank you to the Coast Guard. During our Texas floods, you showed up. The Coast Guard showed up. You save lives. Thank you to the Coast Guard for all the work that they've done in JIATF of South, they've been the tip of the spear in the SOUTHCOM AOR for a long time. Their work often goes unnoticed.
Thank you, HSI, for leading these anti-gang task forces. They work. They're going out there. You're apprehending murderers. You're apprehending sexual offenders. You're doing it in a local, state, federal way. They're working. Thank you for that.
Thank you, ICE. Thank you for keeping us safe by deporting all these people. I really appreciate the innovative idea of DHS owning its own airplanes. It's ridiculous that we had to essentially contract out, in order to have these repatriation flights, that is a game-changer. Thank you for that.
Thank you, ERO, for adding bed space. This is exactly how we continue to deport the millions of convicted criminal aliens that are in this country.
Thank you, NCTC, for keeping us safe. You're exactly right. Thank you for vetting, for going out and finally doing the role of vetting these people. You and I served overseas, many of us did, and we know, oftentimes, it was more dangerous at the chow hall than outside the wire, right? So, thank you for that vetting.
Thank you, Border Patrol, for ending catch and release.
Thank you, TSA, for keeping us safe during all our travels, and then also looking into any future vulnerabilities.
Thank you, Secret Service. Thank you for not only keeping our leaders safe, but a lot of people don't realize Secret Service is key to school safety. I think that's so important, that brings us all together.
I wanted to use the bulk of my time to just thank you, because we don't do that enough here. It's always finger-pointing. It's always somebody else's fault. Please go back to your agencies and thank the men and women who are serving every day and helping to keep this country safe. With that, I'd like to give you a little time to talk about the Venezuelan situation and what the Coast Guard is doing.
Secretary Kristi Noem, Department of Homeland Security: The operation that was conducted yesterday morning was a Coast Guard-led operation. It was in partnership with the Department of War and the Department of Justice, the FBI as well. And it was a successful operation directed by the President to ensure that we're pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs and killing our next generation of Americans. Just the drugs that the Coast Guard has been able to interdict on the waters since President Trump has been in office, has been enough lethal doses of cocaine to kill 177 million Americans. That's two-thirds of our country that has been saved by blowing up, by going after and bringing to justice these individuals that are out at sea, and those individuals that are funding it with a shadow fleet of sanctioned oil that should never be sold to benefit their profits and their pockets to kill Americans.
Congressman Gonzales: Thank you for that update. For many of us that served in uniform, often it was overseas, it was in the Middle East, or it's in Asia, or it's in Europe. And I think those AORs are very important. But for too long, President, after President, after President, our backyard has been left wide open, and we are completely shocked why all these terrorists are in our country and all these people are unvetted. All this chaos is happening when our own backyard was unsafe. So thank you again, for one. I know you traveled, you met with heads of state. El Salvador, Mexico, are a couple that come to mind. But, I just want to thank you for making our backyard a priority and ultimately to keep Americans safe. Texans are more safe today than we were a year ago, and a lot of that is due to President Trump and due to the leadership that I'm seeing right here of executing those policies. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. With that, Chairman, I yield back.
