Rep. Ruben Gallego: “I Will Gladly Work With the President When His Ideas Aren’t Stupid”

It appears that President Trump’s proposal to install National Guard troops along the U.S./Mexico border as a means to better battle illegal immigration is going into effect, and many Democratic lawmakers are heaping heavy criticism upon the decision. Decrying the impact it will have on American taxpayers as a “waste,” Rep. Ruben Gallego has emerged on the forefront of the Democratic response to the measure.

After White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders ridiculed Gallego and other Democrats’ position on the troop deployment, saying he “ought to show up and actually support legislation that would fix the problems instead of blaming the president that’s actually doing something about it,” Gallego levied a candid and blunt response during an appearance on CNN Thursday. “I will gladly work with the president when his ideas aren’t stupid and detrimental to the United States … unfortunately this is what this plan is,” said Gallego.

“I will gladly work with the President when his ideas aren’t stupid and detrimental to the United States,” says Rep. Ruben Gallego on his opposition to Trump sending troops to the Mexican border https://t.co/HSkgdbUbukpic.twitter.com/HyMiitVd8T

— CNN (@CNN) April 5, 2018

The Arizona lawmaker’s response to Sanders and the White House as a whole is one of the more direct criticisms against the president’s divisive and somewhat autocratic policies, which have only grown more consequential in the last month. The rash of White House staff turnover, unhinged Twitter rants and undermining spread of misinformation conducted by Trump in that time has done little to galvanize the Republican party as the midterm elections grow closer and caused his approval rating to hit a record low.

According to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, the Defense and Homeland Security departments have been directed to dispatch troops to the southern border and that they will look to do so immediately. Nielsen did not say how much the deployment will cost or how many troops will be stationed along the border, should the act come to fruition.