The White House and Republicans are not shying away from battling with Democrats over the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
Their view: It doesn’t hurt President Trump — and may even help him and the party.
“Of course it’s a winning issue. Americans support enforcing the law. Common sense tells you this and polls confirm it. If Democrats want to talk about MS-13 gang members, we're happy to oblige them,” a senior White House official told me about the messaging in the Abrego Garcia case. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys and family have disputed allegations he is in MS-13.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, went as far as to offer to pay for House Democrats’ trips to El Salvador as they demanded Abrego Garcia’s release — on the condition they “livestream the whole thing” and “snap plenty of selfies with your MS-13 buddies.”
“We’ll pay for the plane tickets, they just can’t forget to smile for the camera while they sell out their constituents,” NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella said in a statement Monday, coming after a group of House Democrats announced travel to the country.
That is exactly what some Democrats have been worrying about as their colleagues sound the alarm about what they see as the underlying issue: the Trump administration appearing to ignore the Supreme Court’s order to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the White House “picked out this case and this man because it’s about a subject that they want to keep in the news.” And California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), asked to comment on the case last week, said it was “the distraction of the day,” adding: “This is the debate they want. This is their 80/20 issue.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who traveled to El Salvador an met with Abrego Garcia last week, shot back at Newsom on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, saying: “I don't think it's ever wrong to stand up for the Constitution” and that “Americans are tired of elected officials or politicians who are all finger to the wind, 'what's blowing this way, what's blowing that way.'”
But as Democrats battle over the right tactics and principles, actions from the White House and Republicans show they are leaning in.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Abrego Garcia will “never live in the United States again.” The White House’s social media accounts have dug in, too, saying he will not come back.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) joined in highlighting Democrats’ travel to El Salvador, posting Monday: “Today, House Democrats travel to El Salvador as part of their obsession to bring a violent illegal alien and member of MS-13 BACK INTO the United States. Could the contrast be more clear?”
Republicans are encouraged by the polls showing support for deportations:
Other polls, however, paint a more nuanced picture. A March 28-April 1 YouGov poll found that 61 percent of adults opposed deporting immigrants without criminal convictions to El Salvador to be imprisoned, without letting them challenge the deportation in court. Abrego Garcia has no criminal record.
And while Republicans are digging in on the messaging, they are not necessarily giving full-throated support to the Trump administration on every aspect of the controversy.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was a “screw up.”
“I understand why the administration has bowed up and won't admit it's a mistake, because if they do, they'll have their throats torn out. But, it was a screw up,” Kennedy said.
Related: Patience runs thin as Trump’s battle with Supreme Court intensifies, from my colleague Zach Schonfeld.
I’m Emily Brooks, House leadership reporter at The Hill, here with a weekly look at the influences and debates on the right in Washington. Tell me what’s on your radar: [email protected]
PAPAL POLITICS IN WASHINGTON: As the Vatican prepares for a papal conclave that will choose the next head of the Catholic Church, right-wingers in Washington are already piping up with political posturing in wake of Pope Francis’s death.
Some traditionalists are already boosting Cardinal Robert Sarah, a conservative Guinean. He’s a favorite of those who have bristled at Pope Francis’s more progressive statements.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is one of those pushing for him. She posted a photo of Cardinal Sarah on X, and reposted messages from an account called “Trad West” calling for the next Pope to be more conservative.
Jack Posobiec — the right-wing activist and commentator who is close to the Trump administration and traveled with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this year — is telling fellow Catholics to “call on the cardinals to choose a next Pope one who understands the spiritual awakening that is sweeping millions in a return to the church,” referring to traditionalist beliefs.
The most eye-popping comment in wake of Francis’s death so far, though, is from ex-Catholic and self-described Christian nationalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
Without naming anyone in particular, Greene posted Monday: “Today there were major shifts in global leaderships. Evil is being defeated by the hand of God.”
Greene hasn’t clarified whether she was referring to Francis. World Economic Forum Chair Klaus Schwab also stepped down from his post on Monday. But Greene hasn’t waived off the assumption that she was talking about Francis, either.
As for Vice President Vance… The Catholic convert was one of the last leaders to meet with Francis before his death, on Easter Sunday — before Francis’s Easter message calling for “those in positions of political responsibility in our world not to yield to the logic of fear” toward “the vulnerable, the marginalized and migrants.” (More in The Washington Post.)
Flashback… Former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) abruptly announced his retirement in 2015 the day after Pope Francis spoke to a joint session of Congress, a major and emotional accomplishment for Boehner. Boehner on X recalled Fancis asking the Speaker to pray for him.
And… Trump will attend Francis’s funeral with first lady Melania Trump, he said, posting on Truth Social that they “look forward to being there.”
THREE MORE THINGS…
1. BABY BOOM. Pro-natalist activists have been pitching policy ideas to the White House to get Americans to have more babies, The New York Times reports. Ideas include a $5,000 “baby bonus” and reserving 30 percent of Fulbright scholarships for those who are married or have children.
The news comes after The Wall Street Journal’s eye-popping report about how Trump adviser and tech billionaire Elon Musk manages his “legion” of babies from multiple different mothers — and the “harem drama” that comes along with it.
2. EXILE. Donald Trump Jr. lashed out at John Ullyot, a former top Pentagon spokesperson who resigned from the Defense Department at the end of last week. Ullyot wrote a piece in Politico on Sunday slamming the “total chaos” at the Pentagon.
Some background. Three top Pentagon officials — senior adviser to Hegseth Dan Caldwell; Colin Carroll, chief of staff to the deputy Defense secretary; and Darin Selnick, deputy chief of staff to Hegseth — were ousted last week amid what remaining defense officials said was an investigation into leaks at the Defense Department. In a joint statement Saturday, the three officials said they had been subject to “baseless attacks.”
Trump Jr. said: “This guy is not America First. I’ve been hearing for years that he works his ass off to subvert my father’s agenda. That ends today. He’s officially exiled from our movement.”
Related from my colleagues Ellen Mitchell and Brett Samuels: Trump World fires back as Hegseth back in hot seat
3. WHAT’S IN MY BAG: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse was stolen from a restaurant in downtown D.C. on Sunday night — which apparently included $3,000 in cash, blank checks and a DHS access badge. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told NewsNation’s Ali Bradley that Noem “had the cash because her whole family was in town (including children and grandchildren) and was treating them to activities, dinner and Easter gifts.” Personally, I’m hoping for a “What’s in my bag” video with Noem soon.
Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think: [email protected]