White House Slams ‘Disgusting’ Senator for Meeting With Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The White House took exception to Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s trip to El Salvador, where on Thursday, he met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Last month, the Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia despite a 2019 order by an immigration judge barring his removal to the country. Lawyers for the Department of Justice conceded the deportee was sent to El Salvador by mistake. He is currently being held in a notorious mega-prison, but was made at least temporarily available to meet with Van Hollen.

“Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ & ‘torture’, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” tweeted Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. The senator also posted an image of their meeting.

“I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar,” Van Hollen wrote. “Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.”

The White House insists Abrego Garcia is a “terrorist” who has committed crimes, though he has not been charged with anything and has no criminal record. A couple of hours after Van Hollen posted his update, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai responded on X.

“Chris Van Hollen has firmly established Democrats as the party whose top priority is the welfare of an illegal alien MS-13 terrorist,” he tweeted. “It is truly disgusting. President Trump will continue to stand on the side of law-abiding Americans.”

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that instructed the administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return. The Trump administration claims the matter is now up to El Salvador, which the Trump administration is paying $6 million to incarcerate Abrego Garcia and more than 250 others who were deported from the U.S.