I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

As you likely know, tragedy struck our nation’s capital just hours before Americans gathered to celebrate. Last Wednesday, a 29-year-old Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, shot two West Virginia National Guard members, Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe, near the White House.

On Thanksgiving evening, U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom passed away at just 20 years old. U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition.

Folks, this horrific incident is heartbreaking. These two troops were viciously ambushed as they selflessly spent time away from their loved ones to serve our country and protect our nation’s capital. Please join me in praying for both Sarah and Andrew’s families during this unimaginably difficult time, as well as for Andrew’s recovery as he continues fighting for his life.

The Afghan who savagely attacked these heroes was wounded during the shooting and remains hospitalized. While officials are still investigating him and his evil act of terror, authorities have confirmed that he previously worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, for over a decade in Afghanistan before President Biden’s catastrophic withdrawal from the country in 2021.

Due to his work with the U.S., Rahmanullah Lakanwal was allowed into America in 2021 under “Operation Allies Welcome,” a Biden-era program that resettled thousands of Afghans in the U.S. after the Biden Administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal. He later applied for asylum in 2024, which was granted this past April. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that the vetting process for his asylum claim occurred under the Biden Administration.

As we await additional information, I’m incredibly pleased that President Trump and his Administration are taking action to protect the American people.

As you know, President Trump shut down the southern border within days. Yet millions of foreigners already in the country remain, including illegal aliens and asylum seekers. While mass deportations continue removing illegals from our communities, more steps must be taken to more thoroughly vet legal immigration processes.

Thankfully, President Trump announced that only reverse migration can solve the dire national security crisis threatening our homeland. The Trump Administration has already taken action to tackle this issue and put America First. For example, the State Department paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports. Additionally, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services halted all asylum decisions until the agency can ensure every applicant is thoroughly vetted and screened. President Trump also vowed to pause immigration from Third World countries, reverse Biden-era admissions, and remove foreign nationals that pose security risks or are non-compatible with Western civilization.

Hallelujah! 

Unlike Joe Biden, who flooded our country with illegal aliens and unvetted foreigners, President Trump is prioritizing American citizens’ safety. Please know that I remain committed to supporting these commonsense efforts through my work in Congress.

I want to hear from you!

Last Week's Results:

84% believe it was reckless for Democrat lawmakers to encourage service members and intelligence officers to “refuse illegal orders.”

Ahead of Thanksgiving, the House Budget Committee held a hearing to conduct oversight of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which featured CBO Director Phillip Swagel. Congress created the CBO through the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide objective, nonpartisan information to support the congressional budget process and to help make effective economic policies. However, the CBO has a poor track record of delivering accurate projections. For example, in recent years, the CBO has significantly underestimated both the deficit and inflation. Therefore, I pressed Director Swagel on the CBO’s transparency and accuracy, as correct data and models are essential to the budget and appropriations processes.

Watch the full exchange below:

Additionally, Budget Committee Republicans held a productive roundtable with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. We discussed a variety of topics, such as implementing the tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill, reducing the national debt, and improving affordability for the American people.

I enjoyed the opportunity to speak with Secretary Bessent about these critical issues, as well as other concerns surrounding the Internal Revenue Service.

Gwinnett County kicked off Thanksgiving week by honoring our local first responders at the 10th annual Red, Blue, and You celebration in Buford. This event is dedicated to expressing gratitude to the brave men and women who serve as police officers, firefighters, and emergency personnel. Their courage, sacrifice, and steadfast commitment to serving and protecting our communities deserve tremendous recognition.

While I was unable to attend due to my travel home from Washington, one of my field representatives was honored to attend this year’s ceremony to convey our deep appreciation on behalf of Georgia’s Ninth District. As we enter the holiday season, I hope we will each take a moment to recognize and thank those who keep us safe — not just during times of celebration, but throughout the entire year.

This week, lawmakers are back in Washington to consider the following pieces of legislation:

• H.R. 4312, the Student Compensation & Opportunity through Rights & Endorsements (SCORE) Act: This bill standardizes and establishes a national framework for Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals to provide consistency and stability for college athletics in order to support athletic opportunities, protect student-athletes from exploitation, clarify student-athletes are not employees, and end the mass ongoing litigation threatening college sports.
• H.R. 4305, the DUMP Red Tape Act: This legislation codifies a dedicated hotline for small business owners to report overly burdensome or unnecessary federal regulations to the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy and requires an annual report of these submissions to Congress.
• H.R. 2965, the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act of 2025: This bill requires the SBA to ensure any regulatory action taken by the agency will not raise compliance costs for small businesses and report the costs of other federal agencies’ regulations on small businesses.
• H.R. 1069, the PROTECT Our Kids Act: This legislation blocks federal funding from being given to elementary or secondary schools that directly or indirectly receive support from the Chinese government, including operation of Confucius Classrooms, funds provided by China, and personnel or teaching materials received from an individual or entity acting on behalf of the Chinese government.
• H.R. 1005, the Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems (CLASS) Act: This bill bans K-12 schools from accepting funds from or entering into a contract with the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and requires schools to disclose funding from or contracts with a foreign source to the Department of Education.
• H.R. 1049, the Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education (TRACE) Act: This legislation requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to make sure the K-12 schools they serve notify parents of any foreign contracts or financial transactions they partake in, allow parents to review curriculum provided by or purchased with funds from a foreign government, and inform parents of how many personnel at their child's school are compensated by foreign sources.

For regular updates on the week ahead, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Gettr, and X. Have a blessed week!