Washington D.C. Shooting: Rep. Byron Donalds Blames Democrats for Failing on Border Policies

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., used a Wednesday appearance on Newsmax to argue that the Washington, D.C., shooting that critically injured two West Virginia National Guardsmen reflects what he called long-running failures in Democrat border and vetting policies.
The candidate for governor told “Rob Schmitt Tonight” on Wednesday that the attack highlights what he called a chain of Democrat policy failures dating back to 2021. District officials said the Guardsmen were shot while on high-visibility patrols in the city and remain in critical condition. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the incident appeared to be a targeted shooting. Police said the suspected gunman was subdued and taken into custody at the scene. The suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakamal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, was shot during the incident and is in custody with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening. The preliminary identification matches a man from Washington state who arrived in the United States from Afghanistan in August 2021. Donalds tied the timeline directly to the withdrawal from Afghanistan that year and pointed to what he framed as an absence of proper vetting for evacuees. He argued that the latest shooting reflects the consequences of those decisions.
“What I’m thinking is a couple of things. First, these members of Congress with their stupid a video, they’re putting our military men and women in harm’s way. That’s No. 1. No. 2, now that we’re finding out that this shooter is an Afghani national that came in during the year 2021. Well, gee, what happened in 2021? Oh, yes. It was the botched withdrawal of Afghanistan from Joe Biden, one of the very worst geopolitical and military decisions by the former president of the United States,” Donalds said. “We knew at the time that there were Afghan nationals who were coming into the United States that were not being properly vetted. We’re being told, just get people to the United States as quickly as possible. And then the Biden team would do the necessary work of vetting everybody. And even at that time, none of us believed that on Capitol Hill.” Donalds said the D.C. shooting reflects the warnings he and other Republicans raised. “So now, four years later, we have an Afghan national in the streets of Washington, D.C., who decided to shoot to kill. Let’s be clear. Shoot to kill two of our National Guardmen from the state of West Virginia. This is disgusting. And this has Democrat fingerprint all over it.” “I’m going to be very clear. This is Democrat fingerprint all over it,” he added. “Because in 2021, Joe Biden, [Michigan Sen.] Elissa Slotkin, [Arizona Sen.] Mark Kelly, and the rest of those Democrats they had no problem, whether it was Afghanis coming in recklessly without proper vetting, or people from 184 different countries coming into the United States at will with no checks, no desire to vet, and doing nothing to secure this nation. And now two of our National Guardmen are fighting for their life as a result.”