U.S. Attorney General fiercely defends Trump administration’s border security and weapon seizures in heated Senate hearing.
Attorney General Pam Bondi engaged in a heated exchange with Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island on Wednesday, vehemently defending the Trump administration’s efforts to combat Mexican gangs acquiring American weaponry and criticizing the border policies of the previous Biden administration.
During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Senator Reed challenged Bondi, asking, “What are we doing to stop American weapons going to Mexico to arm their gangs?”
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Bondi fired back, asserting, “We are arresting people who have illegal firearms in our country. We’re not sending people back to Mexico with guns. We’re throwing them in our jails and prosecuting them.” She highlighted data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), stating that almost 9,700 firearms have been intercepted from potentially reaching “dangerous” individuals in Mexico since President Donald Trump took office again on January 20th. This figure, according to a May 2nd press release from the ATF, reflects the administration’s intensified focus.
Senator Reed, however, remained unconvinced, countering, “No, you’re allowing them to be purchased in the United States and driven across the border. Most of these gangs have completely turned themselves into military organizations because they’re using American weapons, American technology, and your argument is that, well, we’re not doing anything about them.”
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Bondi strongly refuted Reed’s claim, pivoting to criticize the previous administration. “No, not my argument. That was the policy of the last four years of the Biden administration with open borders. You could come back and forth across our borders. You could buy guns. You could take guns off the street. You could shoot people in our country. You could bring fentanyl into our country. You could bring methamphetamine into our country. You could bring cocaine into our country. That was the previous administration, not this one.”
Despite Reed reiterating his concerns, Bondi emphasized the current administration’s stance. “Our borders are closed. We are arresting illegal cartels. Sinaloa from Mexico, MS-13 from El Salvador, TdA [Tren de Aragua]. We are arresting from Venezuela.” She further stated that the ATF has seized over 14,600 guns since President Trump’s return to office, representing a 33% increase from the last administration. “And think about that. That’s when our border is secure. They weren’t doing anything,” Bondi added.
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Reed, unconvinced, maintained that Bondi’s focus was not sufficiently on interrupting the arming of Mexican gangs. “I don’t think you’ve done anything to severely interrupt the arming of Mexican gangs because that’s really not what your focus — and I think your focus should be on that,” he concluded.
The exchange comes amidst new figures from U.S. Border Patrol, which reported releasing zero illegal migrants into the nation during the month of May. This marks a significant decline in illegal migration under the current Trump administration, contrasting sharply with the 62,000 illegal migrants released into the country in May 2024 during the Biden administration.
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