Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) defended his trip to El Salvador during an interview Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, where anchor Kristen Welker pressed him on criticism from within his own party.
Van Hollen traveled to the country last week to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a non-citizen who was wrongly deported by the Trump administration in March.
The White House has defied a Supreme Court order requiring his return to the US. Abrego Garcia is currently imprisoned in El Salvador. He entered the U.S. illegally in 2012 but was granted authorization to remain legally in 2019.
The Trump administration has accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, as well as a human trafficker and an abusive husband. None of the allegations have been proven in court, and Abrego Garcia’s legal team has denied the claims.
Van Hollen’s trip and a Friday press conference about it drew praise from most Democrats and criticism from Republicans. But some Democrats have also voiced concerns that the case is a political poison pill.
Welker cited Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, who called Trump’s use of the case his “distraction of the day.”
“Governor Gavin Newsom of California called Mr. Abrego Garcia’s case ‘the distraction of the day,’” Welker said. “He argues Democrats are playing right into the hands of President Trump.”
Welker asked Van Hollen, “How do you respond to Governor Newsom?”
Van Hollen responded, “I don’t
He concluded, “I think Americans are tired of elected officials or politicians who are all finger to the wind… Anybody who can’t stand up for the Constitution and the right of due process doesn’t deserve to lead.”
Newsom, speaking last week, warned Democrats not to lose focus. “Don’t get distracted by distractions,” he said. “This is the debate they want.”
Watch above via NBC News.