Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) on Friday called for the resignation of acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chad Wolf after federal authorities deployed tear gas on protesters in Portland, Ore., the same night.
Escobar blasted Wolf on Twitter, replying to an interview she shared of Wolf on Fox News, accusing him of “extraordinary vanity and arrogance.”
“It’s one thing to ‘protect’ federal buildings, quite another to for @DHSgov to behave like a secret police force in the shocking way we have seen on video. “Acting” @DHS_Wolf needs to resign,” Escobar posted Friday.
Escobar’s response follows reports of federal law enforcement clad in nonspecific military fatigues using unmarked vehicles to detain protesters in Portland. The demonstrations have been ongoing across Portland’s downtown center since the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd at the end of May.
Wolf defended DHS’s actions during the interview, which was presented by the news outlet as a split screen, showing Wolf on one side and images of tear gas deployment on the other.
Wolf said that Portland authorities told the department to “please pack up and go home,” adding that federal law enforcement personnel were present to defend the federal courthouse.
He said he was able to tour the grounds around the courthouse where he alleged “anarchists” reportedly congregated, showing up “about the same time every night for a series of hours.”
“I was able to tour the courthouse. I saw the graffiti; I saw the broken windows, the broken doors,” Wolf said.
“There’s a facility right across the street from the courthouse that has 47 coats of paint on it. They have to paint the facility every night after it gets graffitied,” he said.
Escobar’s Republican adversary for the upcoming November general election, Irene Armendariz-Jackson, replied to Escobar’s tweet, saying, “You really are unhinged, Veronica.”