Daines Slams Biden for Pulling Air Marshals to Southern Border

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - There are fewer Federal Air Marshals on flights in Montana due to the Biden Administration pulling them away from their duties to the swelling numbers coming into the U.S. southern border.

Montana Senator Steve Daines, currently the Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, addressed his colleagues in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on the issue of Federal Air Marshals.

Daines Decries the use of Federal Air Marshals at the Southern Border

“In the plane, I was chatting with a member of Montana law enforcement who works there at the airport,” began Senator Daines. “He told me, they had a recent situation where they had a violent person with a criminal background that needed to get on a plane to fly, and they had requested an Air Marshal that could shadow this potentially violent passenger before they got on the plane.”

Daines described the law enforcement official he spoke with on the airplane.

“He’s got a multi decade career in law enforcement in Montana, Montana Highway Patrol and now working at the airport,” he said. “He said there were no Federal Air Marshals available because they've been deployed to the southern border to process illegals coming into the country. Today I'm sending a letter to Secretary Mayorkas demanding answers.”

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Daines said Many Other Federal Agencies have Also Been Diverted

Daines said the massive numbers at the southern border are pulling personnel away from several important assignments.

“It's not the only time that the Biden administration during this unprecedented border crisis has pulled resources from where they're needed,” he said. “Look at what just happened last week at the Tucson sector, with the U.S. Border Patrol. They said they can't post information on social media now, because and I quote, ‘all available personnel are needed to address the unprecedented flow of migrants’.”

READ MORE: Daines Says Fentanyl is Wreaking Havoc on Montana Tribes

Daines said Many Illegals are Wanted by Federal Agencies

Daines repeated his contention that many coming across the southern border are wanted by various federal law enforcement agencies.

“We have folks coming across the border who are on the FBI terror watch list, and others who are coming from countries that the State Department is listed as state sponsors of terror,” he said. “But diverting personnel, like Federal Air Marshals from the jobs they were trained to do and to protect us is not fixing the problem. It's making it worse. We need policy changes as part of this supplemental (spending bill) that we're debating right now on the United States Senate floor.”

Daines made the remarks at the weekly Republican Senate Leadership press conference.