Vice President Kamala Harris must be removed from her role in dealing with the border surge, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a letter this week to President Biden, saying his running mate has blown her chance to fix things.
Mr. Brnovich said it’s insulting to watch Ms. Harris make trips to other states for “less-pressing matters” while neither she nor Mr. Biden has visited Arizona or other border states to get an up-close look at the migrants surging across the boundary line from Mexico.
“Mr. President, we cannot afford another day, week or month of apathy and inaction by any official in your administration charged with upholding our federal immigration laws and ensuring public safety,” the Republican attorney general wrote.
He said it was “shameful” that Border Patrol agents aren’t getting more support from the Biden team.
Last month Mr. Brnovich sent a letter inviting Ms. Harris to Arizona to look at the border.
“However, to date, her response to the border crisis has been totally abysmal, so I am requesting that she be replaced as your ‘border czar,’“ the attorney general wrote.
As migrant numbers rose in the early days of his administration Mr. Biden tapped Ms. Harris to help figure out the border. But the White House quickly made clear they say her role is limited to foreign diplomacy with countries that migrants flee or cross, not to the actual border itself.
Republicans have rejected that attempt to limit Ms. Harris’ political exposure to the border mess, insisting that she be held responsible for the still-growing surge.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.