Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., told Newsmax TV on Friday that Democrats refuse to support the Halt Lethal Trafficking (HALT) Fentanyl Act despite the ongoing opioid epidemic.
The partisan divide over the legislation illustrates "major failures" in fighting the illegal distribution of fentanyl, Guthrie told "The National Report."
"The fentanyl is coming from China and [former President Donald Trump] was putting pressure on [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] to stop this from coming," he said.
"And matter of fact, President Trump, using executive authority, banned all these illicit fentanyls ... and you could be punished for having them in this country. But it was executive authority so we have to ask Congress to pass a bill to make them permanent, and we just can't get the Democrats to do that."
He went on to say that the Democrats’ "argument is, If we make this category of fentanyl illegal then it will kick in mandatory minimums and more people will go to jail. Well, my argument is if you're selling illicit fentanyl ... you belong in jail."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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