During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) spoke about Democrats pushing to end the national emergency that President Trump is using to impose sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Mr. President, just over two weeks ago the Senate passed the HALT-Fentanyl Act with bipartisan support.
00:06As I said at the time, this bill joins other efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis that is taking so many lives in our country.
00:13But now Democrats seem to want to take a step backward in that fight.
00:17They want to end the emergency that President Trump declared that addresses the flow of fentanyl across the northern border from Canada.
00:24Mr. President, fentanyl moves in a sophisticated supply chain.
00:29Precursor chemicals are shipped from China to North America, landing in Mexico, Canada, and the United States.
00:36Those chemicals are then used to produce fentanyl, which is smuggled into the United States across borders or sent through the mail.
00:43Now, much of the fentanyl that comes into the United States comes through the southern border from Mexico.
00:48And I'm glad that President Trump has taken swift action to secure the border with Mexico and address the flow of drugs across that border.
00:56But we would be wrong, Mr. President, we would be wrong to view this as solely a southern border problem.
01:04The reality is that fentanyl production is growing in Canada.
01:08One 30-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police specializing in transnational crime said, and I quote,
01:16Canada is a significant platform for transnational networks and one of the most concerning threats for synthetic narcotic production and exportation to our allies, including the United States, end quote.
01:29Canada's Financial Intelligence Agency has identified about 100 organized crime groups involved in fentanyl production in the country.
01:36That's four times, four times as many as there were in 2022.
01:42And Canadian law enforcement has raided drug super labs, sophisticated fentanyl production facilities that may have links to the cartels.
01:52For now, most fentanyl from Canada enters the United States in small amounts, often through the mail.
01:58But as one cartel member told 60 Minutes last month, cartels are already smuggling fentanyl across our northern border.
02:06So what will happen if we focus on fentanyl coming across the southern border and from China, but fail to address the northern border component of this crisis?
02:16Will the cartels simply shift tactics and expand their operations to the north?
02:22I think we can be confident the answer to that question is yes.
02:26We've already seen some illegal immigrants attempt that shift when faced with stricter security measures at the southern border.
02:33And last week, the FBI director warned the House Intelligence Committee that our enemies will adapt to security measures at the southern border by shifting resources to the northern border.
02:45Mr. President, if we are serious about ending the fentanyl crisis in America, we need to address the entirety of the crisis.
02:54We're not going to solve the problem by going after just part of it.
02:58Ending this emergency declaration would tell the cartels that they should shift their focus to the southern border.
03:04And so I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution and ensure that President Trump has the tools that he needs to combat the flow of fentanyl from all directions.
03:14Mr. President, this is the second resolution seeking to end an emergency that the Senate has considered in the last few weeks.
03:21Last time, it was ending the national energy emergency.
03:26Now it's ending an emergency related to fentanyl.
03:30The American people recognize that these are legitimate crises and that they warrant an aggressive response.
03:37President Trump and Republicans promised that we would unleash American energy and end the lawlessness at our borders.
03:45And we intend to keep those promises.
03:48Mr. President, I yield the floor.