The Week in Review

Happy Friday!

This was the House’s last week of session before its annual August recess. Though, if you’ve followed the congressional news this week, it appears Senate Democrats have reached a new massive spending deal that could bring the House back to vote on the final passage of the bill during August. This week was a busy one, so I hope you’ll read below to learn about the important happenings:

Voting Against the Democrats’ Radical Assault Weapons Ban

Today, I voted against H.R-1808-Assault Weapons Ban. This bill would ban more than 24 million modern sporting rifles sold in the U.S. and other popular firearms and magazines owned by law-abiding Americans. The bill would criminalize the import, sale, manufacture, or transfer of numerous semiautomatic rifles and shotguns, mainly based on their appearance and not functionality. 

The bill unquestionably violates our Second Amendment rights. It also violates rulings made by the Supreme Court where it made clear that the Second Amendment protects arms that are “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes” and “in common use at the time.”

Democrats' broad “assault weapons” ban will not make Americans safer. The most recent FBI data indicates that more murders are committed using knives, blunt objects, and fists than with rifles or shotguns.

This legislation is just another attempt to erase our Second Amendment rights and to create fear and confusion among the American public. Click below to view my remarks on this egregious bill.

Holding the Department of Justice Accountable Over Border Crisis and Hunter Biden

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on oversight of the Department of Justice National Security Division (NSD). Even though the division’s mission is to “protect the United States from threats to our national security,” I did not walk away from this hearing feeling confident that it is handling national security matters appropriately. 

Matthew Olsen, the Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice, testified before the committee but could not provide basic answers regarding how illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist who are apprehended by CBP at our southern border are processed, the threats from Hunter Biden’s relationships with foreign countries, or general questions about the NSD.

He admitted to me that he doesn't know how many “gotaways” at the southern border could be potential terrorists or how they're even tracked. Even worse, he could not answer anything related to Hunter Biden and his shady relationships with leaders abroad. 

It’s unclear if the DOJ is incompetent or deliberately lying to the American people, but what is clear is that our national security is compromised and I will do everything that I can to restore confidence in this institution. Check out my interactions with this official below. 

Protecting Gun Manufacturers from Radical Democrats

Instead of holding a hearing to address legitimate issues such as the Biden Border Crisis, the Biden family’s shady business dealings abroad, or corruption in the Department of Justice, Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing to attack gun manufacturers this week. 

Despite these companies fully cooperating with Democrat inquiries and submitting  requested documents, Democrats spent their time addressing a non-existent issue in an effort to stoke fear and continue attacking our Second Amendment rights. 

Gun manufacturers do not cause violent crime. Criminals cause crime. Click below to watch my remarks.  

Visiting American Leadership Academy’s New Applied Technologies Campus in Mesa  

Educational choice empowers students and strengthens our communities. 

I’d like to thank American Leadership Academy for inviting my staff to their new campus in Mesa, where high school students can graduate with industry certifications in aviation, finance, healthcare, and other critical fields.

American Leadership Academy Applied Technologies is the first tuition-free high school in Arizona to offer rigorous core classes along with quality Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Letters and Legislation 

Bills Cosponsored

H.Res. 1255 - Expressing continued support for all U.S. Border Patrol agents who carry out the important mission of securing our borders.

Letters Cosigned

Letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary McDonnough urging him to immediately grant all religious and medical exemption requests for the COVID-19 vaccine for VA health care providers and employees.

Letter to President Biden conducting oversight over the sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to a company with financial ties to Hunter Biden.

Letter to Department of Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency opposing the recent rescinding of transparency policies around “sue and settle” agreements.

Letter to Secretary Mayorkas regarding DHS efforts to impede oversight from the DHS Office of Inspector General.

Letter to ICE Acting Director Tae Johnson regarding reports that ICE is planning a program to issue ID cards to illegal immigrants who cross the Southern Border and are released into the interior of the US.

Top Media Appearances of the Week

I joined Real America’s Voice’s Charlie Kirk to discuss Dr. Deborah Birx’s numerous lies about the COVID-19 vaccine as well as the state of politics in Arizona. Click below to watch the full segment. 

I joined Newsmax’s Chris Salcedo to discuss the Biden Administration’s radical climate agenda and the Department of Justice protecting Hunter Biden from wrongdoings. Click below to watch the full segment.

I joined KFYI-AM’s James T. Harris to discuss the invasion at the southern border where more than 500,000 “gotaways” have snuck past Border Patrol into the interior of the country. Click below to hear the full segment. 

What’s the Biggs Idea? Podcast w/ FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon 

This week, FreedomWorks president Adam Brandon joined me on my podcast “What’s the BIGGs Idea?”.

FreedomWorks is a grassroots service organization to millions of activists who support smaller government, lower taxes, free markets, personal liberty, and the rule of law. We discussed American greatness, the largest threats to America today, and how to protect America for future generations. 

We’ll be posting more episodes soon. Check out our social media pages for updates. 

Click below to view the podcast. Or visit my website to watch previous episodes. 

Top Tweets of the Week 

Survey Opportunity

I want to hear more from you. Please consider filling out my short survey to express your thoughts on our economy, border, and other pressing societal issues. The survey may be accessed by clicking here.

Definition of the Week 

The Biden Administration’s economic policies have brought the U.S. economy officially into a recession. A recession occurs when there are two consecutive quarters of negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. Despite this widely known and used definition, the Biden White House has gaslit the American public and attempted to change its definition to downplay its failures. White House Press Secretary Karrine Jean-Pierre even went on to say that the country is not in a “recession” nor a “pre-recession.”

The American people know the Biden Administration is lying to their faces. The Biden Administration must admit fault and get the country out of this recession by halting excessive government spending and unleashing American energy.  

Inspired by President Biden and the Democrats’ false narrative, here’s the definition of the week:

Recession (NOUN): Occurs when two consecutive quarters of negative Gross Domestic Product  (GDP) are seen.