Representative Mike Ezell

Dear [salutation],

It's been another long week in Washington. As the Middle East and our southern border continue to be caught up in crisis, Congress is wasting its time bickering about leadership. Here's a brief update on what's going on:

Standing With Israel and Against Antisemitism

It's been nearly two weeks since Iran-backed Hamas terrorists launched their war on Israel. Thousands of innocent Israelis have been killed or injured, and Hamas is still holding hundreds of hostages.

In spite of Hamas's barbaric actions, many here in the United States are echoing their talking points.

On Tuesday night, news outlets around the world reported that an Israeli missile had blown up a hospital in Gaza, killing 500 people. Members of Congress jumped on the story as a way to blame Israel for the war Hamas started.

But here's the thing: none of that story was true. What really happened?

A rocket fired by terrorist fighters went off course and exploded in a hospital parking lot. A few cars blew up and some windows were damaged. There were some fatalities, but nowhere near the 500 initially reported.

The information in the initial reports came straight from Hamas. That's right. CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and countless other outlets reported terrorist propaganda as fact.

Even today, nearly three days after the Hamas lies were widely disproven by both American and European investigations, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has yet to remove her post blaming Israel for "killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients)."

Blaming Israel for terrorists killing their own people is gross — but it shouldn't come as a surprise from someone who said the Holocaust gives her a "calming feeling."

Thousands of protestors who share her pro-Hamas sentiments came to Capitol Hill Wednesday to advocate for the terrorist group. Many of them chose to break the law and were arrested in the Cannon House Office Building, not far from my office. Thankfully, my staff and I are okay.

While I believe in the First Amendment, I condemn this kind of rhetoric and the lawless actions of these protestors. Anti-semitism and support for terrorism should have no place in Congress, on Capitol Hill or anywhere in the United States.

The Southern Border is Actually Open

Earlier this week, Axios released an article blaming conservatives for what it calls the "myth" of an open U.S.-Mexico border.

For an "explainer" article, It's surprisingly light on explanation.

They don't mention how Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported over 7 million total migrant encounters and more than 1.6 million known "gotaways" since President Biden took office.

They also don't mention how CBP is reporting record numbers of individuals from the terrorist watchlist and record numbers of Chinese nationals trying to cross the southern border, as well as thousands of criminals and hundreds of known gang members.

People are coming across the border in record numbers, and they're doing so because the Biden Administration is encouraging it. They've even proposing to provide free healthcare, lawyers and housing to over 5.7 million illegal immigrants (a plan that would cost taxpayers billions).

An article that mentions none of this (and instead suggests the Ku Klux Klan is responsible for Americans' desires for a secure border) isn't an explainer; it's propaganda.

It's Past Time to Act Like Adults

It's been 18 days since eight Republicans chose to side with all 208 Democrats to vacate the Speaker's chair.

Since then, it feels like we've been moving in circles. We've now had three Republican Speaker nominees and all three have failed.

None of the three nominees (Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, and Jim Jordan) have been perfect or agreed with me on everything. But there's not a single person on Earth — let alone within the House Republican Conference — who's perfect.

At this point, we have two choices: we can sit around and complain, or we can hash out our differences and unify behind our next nominee.

I don't know the name of that next person (or even who all the candidates will be), but I'm confident our conference will elect a strong conservative. I've voted for the nominee every time we've voted on the floor, and I'm not going to stop now.

I hope the rest of the conference will join with me in acting like adults and moving on for the sake of the American people.

I'm proud to serve as your United States Congressman. While I don't know what's next for the House as a whole, I do know that I'm going to continue to work for you, for South Mississippi, and for our conservative values.

If you have questions about pending legislation or need help with a federal agency, please visit my website or contact one of the offices below.

Sincerely,

Mike Ezell
Member of Congress

Standing With Israel and Against Antisemitism

The Southern Border is Actually Open

It's Past Time to Act Like Adults

Office Locations