Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) argued that elected officials and politicians on both sides of the aisle need to step up to fight for the Constitution and if they don’t, they don’t deserve to lead.
Van Hollen joined CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, shortly after he returned from a trip to El Salvador to meet with wrongfully deported Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
His trip was criticized by the Trump administration and GOP officials, but Democrats have sounded the alarm that Abrego Garcia was denied due process rights and the administration is skirting judicial power by avoiding the Supreme Court order to facilitate his return.
Host Dana Bash asked Van Hollen about the theory that the administration is picking a fight over Abrego Garcia’s deportation to distract from the administration’s tariffs.
“I don’t think it’s ever wrong to fight for the constitutional rights of one person, because if we give up on one person’s rights, we threaten everybody’s rights,” he said.
“I think a lot of voters, both Republican and Democrat, are tired of … elected officials and politicians who just put their finger to the wind,” Van Hollen continued. “And I would say that anyone who’s not prepared to stand up and fight for the Constitution doesn’t deserve to lead.”
At first, it was unclear if Van Hollen would be able to meet with Abrego Garcia while he was in El Salvador. The two eventually met on Friday and the senator said Abrego Garcia was completely in the dark about his family’s fight to get him home and the fiery political debate that’s ensued since his deportation.
Van Hollen said Abrego Garcia had no idea that there was a directive from the Supreme Court to facilitate his return. The Trump administration, however, has sought to direct responsibility on Abrego Garcia’s return to El Salvador, sparking a legal debate and struggle between the executive and judicial branch.
“The subject at hand is that he and his administration are defying a court order to give people, to give Abrego Garcia his due process rights,” Van Hollen said. “They are trying to litigate on social media what they should be doing in the courts.”
“They need to put up or shut up in the courts, let me tell you,” he added.
