News from Congressman Scott Fitzgerald

Message from Congressman Scott Fitzgerald

Good morning!

I hope everyone’s Monday is off to a great start. I’m back in the district this week and am happy to be hosting office hours again in Johnson Creek. More information on this can be found below.

Last week was a productive one on Capitol Hill—most importantly though, House Republicans delivered on our promise to hold the Biden Administration accountable by formally impeaching Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The crisis at the border is directly traceable to Secretary Mayorkas’ actions. Between 2021 and 2023 there were 6.1 million illegal aliens encountered on the Southern border. This more than triple the number encountered during the Trump Administration. Mayorkas has openly defied federal law and has completely breached public trust.

I hope this action is a wake up call to the President and Senate Democrats who are dragging their feet on H.R. 2, the Secure Our Border Act that House Republicans already passed.

Keep reading on to see what else I was up to in DC last week. I hope to see many of you at the Johnson Creek office hours tomorrow.

Have a great week!

- Scott

Office Hours

For any folks who were unable to attend my office hours last week, I have good news!

Tomorrow, February 20, myself and my staff will be hosting more office hours in Johnson Creek at the village hall to meet with constituents who may be experiencing problems with a federal agency. Here is some more information if you’d like to attend:

Location:

12:30 PM – 1:15 PM
Johnson Creek Village Hall
125 Depot Street
Johnson Creek, WI 53038

Weekend Travels Around SE Wisconsin

I was happy to support the Hartford Future Farmers of America in Rubicon yesterday!

The agriculture tradition runs deep in Wisconsin’s history, so it is always encouraging to see enthusiasm among Wisconsin’s youth to keep this industry alive and flourishing.

The House Impeached Secretary Mayorkas

It is incumbent upon Congress to hold executive officials accountable for their actions. In fact, we are bound by the constitution to do so. For this reason, I voted to help pass impeachment articles against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week.

Secretary Mayorkas has completely breached public trust and failed to comply with federal law. I have been thoroughly convinced of these impeachment articles from the nearly 400 pages of factual background and numerous reports the Homeland Security Committee has issued on the border crisis and Secretary Mayorkas’ wrongdoing.

Secretary Mayorkas has openly defied Sec. 212 of the migration and Nationality Act (INA). It mandates immigrant parole be done on a case-by-case basis. Secretary Mayorkas has instead overseen mass parole, releasing at least 1.5 million illegal aliens into the country over the past two years approximately.

Secretary Mayorkas has refused to follow the provisions of the INA that require DHS to remove illegal aliens, including aliens that have committed automatically deportable criminal offenses. This is evinced in his September 2021 enforcement priorities memo telling DHS employees not to follow immigration law as written.

The evidentiary record is clear, Secretary Mayorkas has defied the Immigration and Nationality Act and breached the trust of the American people. It’s no wonder there were over six million encounters on the Southern Border between 2021 and 2023—and the problem only continues to grow.

Western Caucus Meeting

I had a great meeting with my Western Caucus friends last week! Lots of important topics discussed—particularly the dangers of the Chevron deference and the need for SCOTUS to repeal this standard, which gives too much power to unelected bureaucrats.

In 1984, the Supreme Court held in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council that in interpreting an ambiguous statute, courts should defer to the agency’s interpretation if that interpretation is not unreasonable, so long as Congress has not acted on the precise issue at question.

Our Constitution clearly gives legislative power to Congress and judicial power to our federal courts. For too long, the Chevron deference has given unelected bureaucrats unjustified power at the expense of Congressional intent. That’s why I continue to champion a bill I introduced, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA). My bill would mitigate the Biden Administration’s overreaching executive actions by rightfully returning power to Congress,

Amicus Brief

Last week, I joined 21 of my colleagues in Congress in an amicus brief in American Securities Association and Citadel Securities v. SEC in the Eleventh Circuit of Appeals, challenging the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed funding scheme for its Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT).

The CAT would collect loads of Amercans’ private data, including investors and any American with a retirement account, without any suggestion of wrongdoing by the investor. Oh and the worst part? The SEC wants those being audited to foot the bill.

This proposal is just the latest gross overreach from the Biden administration.