EXCLUSIVE: Freshman Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, will not attend President Biden’s Tuesday reception for members of the 118th Congress, a decision she said would give her more time to focus on her family and issues affecting her constituents.
“While I believe in building good relationships with my colleagues in both parties, at this time, my time is best spent advancing policies that will help South Texans prosper and live safely,” De La Cruz wrote in a letter to Biden shared with Fox News Digital. “I would welcome a meeting at The White House to discuss the issues impacting my community with you and your staff on another occasion.”
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De La Cruz said the reception at the White House also conflicts with a scheduled call with her children.
“As a single mom, they are my top priority,” De La Cruz wrote. “I am sure you can understand. Besides, I am more of a Shiner Bock and Taco Palenque girl.”
De La Cruz is a freshman in the 118th Congress. She won her election for the 15th district by nearly ten percent in the redistricted 2022 map, making her the first Republican from the district to be elected. She told Biden that border security is a key issue for her constituents in the Rio Grande Valley area that Biden has failed to serve.
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“Our country is facing an unprecedented border crisis with record levels of drugs, like fentanyl, killing our fellow Americans at alarming rates,” De La Cruz wrote to Biden. “My community’s Border Patrol agents lack basic resources. Too many families in South Texas are struggling to achieve the American Dream and, after a century of one-party control in our region, we still have entire counties without doctors.”
Encounters at the southern border have hit record high levels under the Biden administration. Biden made his first visit to the border in January amid a trip to Texas.