April 21st, 2023: Weekly Newsletter

Watch my remarks at the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.

We may not have a smoking gun for COVID-19 origins, but we have plenty of evidence of a cover-up.

This week, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held a hearing to investigate the origins of COVID-19. Most people familiar with the Chinese Communist Party are not surprised by their attempts to cover up the origins of the virus or the actions that followed. In fact, history would teach us to expect this behavior from authoritarian regimes. What is shocking, however, is the lengths to which our own Government went to suppress dissenting viewpoints, and mislead the American people — even as lives hung in the balance.

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe testified to this when he told the subcommittee that even though there was far more evidence available for the lab leak theory than any other theory, even his subordinates in the intelligence agencies were not properly forthcoming with information. This also raises more questions about why Dr. Fauci personally ordered the creation of a publication to “disprove” the lab leak theory. 

Our committee is determined to find the truth about COVID-19's origins and to hold the people who misled the public accountable. 

Acting Director of ICE, Tae Johnson.

Acting Director of CBP, Troy Miller.

This week, both the ICE and CBP directors testified before the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. It is crucial that we use the power of the purse to stop Joe Biden’s border crisis. I made the case for this in the hearings which you can watch above.

Under the Biden administration, illegal crossings have skyrocketed while deportations have plummeted (as seen in the figures below). When this administration only deports a tiny fraction of illegal migrants, it further incentivizes illegal migration. Congress has repeatedly passed border security funding, but now President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas are taking that money and using it to process more illegal migrants, benefiting cartels and drugs lords instead of the American people. We need an administration that protects our border instead of turning it into the last-mile delivery system of the cartels.

We must ensure that full funding for both ICE and the CBP goes towards ending the border crisis, yet the Biden/Mayorkas regime seems content with aiding and abetting cartels. But beyond the funding needs, it’s well past time for us to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas — who refuses to enforce the law while misleading the public about the dire situation at the border.

This week I voted in favor of H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023, a bill to protect the rights of women and girls to compete on a level playing field. 

This is about a simple, common sense concept: women and girls should not be forced to compete in sports against biological men. This bill rescinds a Joe Biden policy that allows biological males to participate in women's sports in federally funded schools. This includes K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. It’s wrong, and we’re working to put a stop to it.

Last week, China denied wrongfully detained native Texan Mark Swidan’s appeal and upheld his death  sentence. This decision by the People’s Republic of China is egregious and should be roundly condemned. Mark Swidan has been unjustly detained for 10 years, subjecting him and his family to outrageous human rights abuses and it has to end. 

I introduced a resolution in February demanding China immediately release Mark Swidan, and I have called on the Biden administration to use all tools at their disposal to secure his release. Bringing Mark home to his family should be a top priority for this administration. 

We must shed light on all the Americans who remain wrongfully imprisoned by authoritarian regimes that are happy to collect human lives as capital for future political bargaining. I am committed to ensuring that Mark is released and can return home to his family in Texas.

During the recent Holy week of Easter, the Biden administration sent a “cease and desist” letter to the Holy Name College Friary, prohibiting them from providing Pastoral care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. It is unconscionable that this Administration would prevent practicing Catholics from practicing their faith under any circumstances. 

In response to the egregious decision, I joined my fellow conservatives in demanding answers from the White House. You can read more about the letter that I cosigned to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin HERE.

• In preparation for any summer travel plans abroad, make sure you have everything sorted well ahead of time - if you are having trouble with your passport, feel free to reach out to my Corpus Christi office and we will do our best to help.

• I recently joined Newsmax!

God Bless,

Rep. Michael Cloud

Member of Congress

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