I'm beginning to think Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen isn't playing with a full deck, and if I were one of his constituents, I'd be thinking long and hard about re-electing him.
First, there are just under 6.3 million people living in Maryland, but this guy is so focused on just one that he doesn't really seem to be doing what the state's voters elected him to do.
Second, the one person he's focused on is not only affiliated with a foreign terrorist organization, but he's also not even a U.S. citizen and has a history of violence.
Third, Van Hollen wasted a whole lot of taxpayer money today when he boarded a plane to El Salvador to go attempt to meet with and free this man — who, again, is a Salvadoran citizen — and smuggle him back into the United States.
Fourth, El Salvador's president and several top government officials were literally in Washington, D.C., for at least three days this week, and, as far as I know, refused to meet with Van Hollen as per his request (though based on the date of the statement put out by Van Hollen's office, it looks like he kind of made the request at the last minute).
Plus, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele sat in the Oval Office and said that he would not be sending this so-called "wrongly deported Maryland father" back to the United States. The Supreme Court even ruled that the United States does not have to bring this man back into our country, only facilitate his return should El Salvador choose to do so.
Related: Trump Meets with Nayib Bukele, Destroys Fake News
I enjoy political theater, but this is just stupid.
Anyway, as he promised, Van Hollen skipped out on 6.3 million Marylanders today and hopped on a plane to Central America, where he intended to meet with the Salvadoran government and Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the non-U.S. citizen in question.
El Salvador rejected him.
Van Hollen met with the country's vice president, Félix Ulloa, who told him that if he wanted to visit El Salvador's Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), where Abrego Garcia is currently being detained, he must schedule his visit well in advance. Van Hollen said he asked if he could come back next week, and Ulloa told him he couldn't promise that, either. He also denied him a video or telephone visit.
Ulloa eventually told him he'd need to try to arrange it through the U.S. Embassy, which Van Hollen said he plans to do. He also continues to call on President Bukele to let Abrego Garcia walk free and return to the United States — I guess so we can deport him again?
Here are Van Hollen's full remarks, if you want to suffer through them for yourself:
NEW: Maryland Senator @ChrisVanHollen says his request made to the VP of El Salvador to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia was denied.
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) April 16, 2025
The senator said he was told by the Vice President "you need to make earlier provisions to visit CECOT.”
Van Hollen says he wasn’t able to meet with… pic.twitter.com/FRBYuutcNY
I'm not sure what else to say, so I'll let this Libs of TikTok post on X sum it up:
Democrat US Senator Chris Van Hollen is in El Salvador demanding that President Bukele "do the right thing" and release an MS13 gang member who was "illegally abducted."
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 16, 2025
A sitting member of US Congress is in a foreign country trying to free an MS13 gang member. Unreal. pic.twitter.com/vumQTqMMj3
We're on a new journey here at PJ Media, and we hope you'll join us as a VIP member.
Not only can you support us and help keep us running, but you can gain some perks for yourself, too, when you sign up. I know you're thinking it's going to be expensive, but right now, it's only $1.63 a month — that's less than $20 for an entire year of access.
Click this link to sign up today, and use the code word FIGHT to make sure you get the best price. We can't wait for you to join us!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member