Dem House speaker torched for invoking 9/11 to attack key Trump policy: 'Totally wrong'

By Fox News · Fox News

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., fired back at the Pennsylvania House speaker, a Democrat, after she suggested the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration could invite 9/11-like violence. "She used her time to actually denounce securing our border and saying that, somehow, the efforts to keep our country safe could lead to another attack," Mackenzie told Fox News Digital. "She’s totally wrong. She’s answering to the far-left radicals and globalists. I would actually call on Joanna McClinton to apologize for what she said at that event," he added. McClinton’s criticism highlights a challenge Democrats face as they search for vulnerabilities in Trump’s immigration agenda: attacking the administration’s aggressive enforcement tactics even as illegal border crossings have fallen sharply. DEM REP SETH MOULTON SAYS PARTY HAS NO IMMIGRATION PLAN, IS ONLY ‘OPPOSITION TO TRUMP’ Speaking at a panel discussion on the 250th anniversary of American independence, McClinton said she feared the threat of retaliation for Trump’s "brutality." "When we think of just the brutality of this federal government for almost two years, it’s been heartless. It’s been too silent on the other side of the aisle. They are treating people with no respect or dignity — people who came here to do better. It’s horrible. So, when we think about where we are in 2026 and that it’s been 25 years, thank God we have not had another attack," McClinton said. "Thank God we haven’t seen another plane go down in Pennsylvania . But we also have to recognize that our policies are impacting our perception around the world," McClinton added. McClinton first became speaker in the Pennsylvania House in 2023 and first joined the chamber in 2015. Before her time in politics, she worked as a public defender. McClinton has voiced similar criticisms of immigration enforcement before, framing Trump’s use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a tool that has gone too far. DEMOCRAT COMPARES ICE TO 'DOMEST…