Rep. Dan Goldman (D.N.Y.) told a mother whose daughter died from fentanyl during Thursday's House Homeland Security hearing that her daughter is being “used” by Republicans.
Mr. Goldman's comments against Josephine Dunn, whose 26-year-old daughter Ashley died after taking a pill laced with fentanyl, are part of a panel entitled “Voices for Victims: The Heartbreaking Reality of the Mayorkas Border Crisis.'' It was held at a public hearing of the association.
Dunn had been invited by Republicans to participate in the hearing and share the story of how he lost his daughter to fentanyl as Congress continues impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Goldman expressed his “deepest condolences” to Dunn for the loss of her daughter and said he would like to “somehow apologize” to her because she is “being used as a fact witness in the impeachment inquiry.”
Border Patrol has seized enough fentanyl this fiscal year to kill the entire U.S. population.
Goldman (left) expressed his “deepest condolences” to Dunn for the loss of his daughter and said he would like to “apologize in some way” to Dunn because she is “being used as a fact witness in the impeachment inquiry.” Stated. (House Homeland Security Committee)
In his remarks to Dunn, he said: “Clearly, given your past experience, you are well equipped to understand what high crimes and misdemeanors are and how they are related.'' No,” he added.
Mr. Goldman's comments angered Mr. Dunn. Dunn told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Friday that the lawmaker is “ignorant as to what my understanding, education and experience are when it comes to misdemeanors and felonies.” . ”
“I have my opinion and it's wrong for him to think I just want to pump more money into a system that has so much money in it and is still broken. Don't think for me. Please. I have a brain. I can think and speak for myself,” she told the outlet.
During the hearing, Dunn became visibly irritated as Goldman tried to question her.
“If we had more law enforcement officers at the border and more resources and technology to stop fentanyl from coming into this country, that would help stop fentanyl trafficking and trafficking from coming into this country.” Don't you agree?'' he asked Dan. “Do you agree with that?”
Dunn rejected Goldman's premise, saying, “The Border Patrol is currently being used to make sandwiches and to screen people into our country. So I disagree with your opinion.” said.
A moment later, Dunn added: “I want the Border Patrol to do what they're hired to do. Every Border Patrol agent I've talked to says their hands are tied by this administration and by Mr. Trump. Mayorkas. I’ve been to the border, haven’t I?”
Goldman said he was the one who asked the questions at the hearing.
Teen drug overdoses hit record high, new report says fentanyl poisoning is primarily to blame
Congressman Dan Goldman pictured in Manhattan on Friday, February 24, 2023. (Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Reinforce the moment with a Facebook post, Dan wrote“I'm sorry, but you know nothing about my experience, background, or understanding. Also, in my research, you have yet to travel to the southern border of the United States. Is that why you avoided the question?” ”
“You can't go back to your district and explain your lack of understanding of the border, your lack of experience at the border, or some other reason? That you actually heard what I said? I don't think so. That's not what you wanted me to say,'' she added.
Last September, Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced that agents had seized more than 2,700 pounds of supplies. Fentanyl was part of more than 69,000 pounds of drugs seized between ports of entry. The seizure also included £40,000. Marijuana, 13,000 pounds methamphetamine and 11,000 pounds. of cocaine.
That amount of fentanyl, not including the amount seized at ports of entry, is more than enough to kill the entire U.S. population. Significant amounts are caught at ports of entry, with more than 22,000 pounds caught at ports of entry on the southern border this year, but this statistic shows that fentanyl is moving past the overwhelming drug at ports and in the field. It highlights the dangers of doing so.
Opioids were involved in more than 100,000 people die from overdose Fentanyl is the most prominent opioid, produced primarily in Mexico using Chinese precursors and then trafficked across the southern border. The drug is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and is often used in conjunction with other drugs, so users don't realize they're taking fentanyl.
Stock photo of fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone. (Craig Kohlruss/The Fresno Bee/Tribune News Service, Getty Images)
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Opioid deaths have risen sharply in recent years, but the Biden administration has pointed to data that suggests the number of overdoses is on the decline. tied flattening A drug strategy that includes tracking smugglers, improving technology at ports of entry, and providing additional funding for treatment and prevention in the United States.
But the administration has faced criticism from Republicans over its handling of the fentanyl crisis, particularly at the southern border, which they say is exacerbating the flow of fentanyl into the United States. Mexico eliminates drug labs run by cartels.
FOX News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
