NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and 42 bicameral Republican colleagues in a letter urging President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to work with Congress to root out abuses in their administration’s unaccompanied migrant children program and stop the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) cover-up of the crisis. HHS has failed to comply with two out of every three U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subpoenas and other information requests issued amid its investigation into more than 100 suspicious sponsors.

The lawmakers are urging Biden and Harris to “make changes to [their] policies and procedures” in order to “end this public safety crisis.” They are specifically calling on the Biden-Harris administration to enhance information sharing with law enforcement and Congress, fully cooperate with DHS’s child exploitation investigation, and thoroughly respond to all congressional oversight requests.

“[The Biden-Harris HHS] must stop its cover-up and cooperate with law enforcement and Congress to end this crisis and protect unaccompanied children and the American people,” the lawmakers concluded.

• More than 500,000 unaccompanied migrant children have crossed the southwest border under the Biden-Harris administration, while cartel trafficking activity surged an estimated 2,500 percent. Amid this crisis, the lawmakers note that the Biden-Harris administration limited background checks for sponsors of unaccompanied children, cut back on familial DNA testing at the border and decreased information sharing with law enforcement.

• In addition to hampering DHS’s child exploitation investigation, the Biden-Harris HHS attempted to obstruct oversight of HHS contractors, including Southwest Key. HHS has also defied House Judiciary Committee subpoenas.

• Joining Senators Blackburn and Grassley in signing the letter are Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), along with Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.),  John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Kennedy (R-La.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kans.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.).
• Additional co-signers in the House include Representatives Tom McLintock (R-Ca.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.), Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.), Ben Cline (R-Va.), Barry Moore (R-Ala.), Russell Fry (R-S.C.), Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), and Michael Rulli (R-Ohio).

Read the full letter here.