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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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A Republican representative has urged the GOP to establish a dedicated committee to address the growing threat of drug cartels amid a push for military action against crime syndicates in Mexico.
Representative Dan Crenshaw, who serves Texas' 2nd Congressional District, is pushing for a specialized committee on cartels, seeking to bolster efforts to combat the escalating violence along the U.S.-Mexico border. The proposed legislation would allow the use of military force against the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, NewsNation reported, as part of a broader strategy to suppress cartel activity and cross-border crime.
On November 15, Crenshaw wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that cartels were "the greatest near-term threat," as he called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to create a select committee to tackle the Mexican drug groups.
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"We have solutions. But we don't have any authority. A select committee will have a better chance of moving these bills to the House floor and to a president who will sign them," he wrote in the post.
"The select committee would show that House Republicans are aligned with and committed to President Trump's agenda to destroy the cartels," Crenshaw added.
The congressman's call reflects growing pressure within the Republican Party to take decisive action against Mexican drug cartels, whose operations continue to fuel the U.S.'s opioid crisis and border security challenges.
Newsweek contacted Crenshaw and the Trump-Vance transition team for comment via email outside normal working hours.
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President-elect Donald Trump pledged to crack down on cartels and has appointed three hard-line officials to carry out his immigration agenda.
Tom Homan, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump's first term, is set to serve as border czar in the Republican's second administration. Stephen Miller is set to serve as deputy chief of staff for policy, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has received the nomination for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Cracking down on the cartels is one of Homan's key priorities. In July, during a speech at the Republican National Convention, he warned Mexican cartels that Trump would wipe them "off the face of the earth."
Trump said notorious crime syndicates and drug kingpins would "never sleep soundly" again once he launched his plans to tackle the issue.
"The drug cartels are waging war on America—and it's now time for America to wage war on the cartels," Trump said in 2023.
"The drug cartels and their allies in the Biden administration have the blood of countless millions on their hands. Millions and millions of families and people are being destroyed. When I am back in the White House, the drug kingpins and vicious traffickers will never sleep soundly again," the statement continued.
Trump added that he would "make appropriate use of special forces, cyber warfare, and other overt and covert actions to inflict maximum damage on cartel leadership, infrastructure, and operations."
In October, Texas sheriffs released footage of a shootout between rival cartel factions on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, near the Texas border.
Thermal drone footage released by the Texas Department of Public Safety showed an intense gunfight in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, less than a mile from the town of Donna, Texas.
The proximity of the gunbattle to the United States has underlined the sense of urgency and concern for U.S. border security.
With the new congressional session and incoming Trump administration, creating a select committee on cartels could become a central point of legislative focus for Republicans.
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