White House rips Jayapal for working with foreign ambassadors to get oil to Cuba despite U.S. sanctions
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a naturalized citizen and advocate for illegal immirants, told a Seattle audience she had been talking with ambassadors from Mexico and other countries about how to get oil to Cuba, a country under U.S. sanctions and on the State Sponsor of Terrorism list.The White House responded with a blistering rebuke, and the remarks set off a firestorm over whether a sitting member of Congress crossed a legal and ethical line.
The Washington State Democrat made the comments during a recent briefing in Seattle after returning from a congressional delegation trip to Cuba in April, where she traveled with Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill. A video clip of her remarks circulated widely on X and drew immediate condemnation from the Trump administration, Republican lawmakers, and conservative commentators.
Fox News Digital reported that Jayapal described the situation on the island as "a crisis beyond imagination" and told the audience she had been working back channels with foreign diplomats to address Cuba's fuel shortages, shortages she blamed squarely on American policy.
Jayapal has also called for lifting the U.S. embargo, removing Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list, and backed legislation to block potential U.S. military action against the country.
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales did not mince words in her response to Fox News Digital:
"The Democrats continue to show Americans who they really are, the America Last party who sip margaritas with terrorists, advocate for illegal alien criminals, and undermine the United States to aid a failed, communist regime."Read more...
