Latest news with #BeccaBalint
New York Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Vermont Democrat slammed over ‘disturbing' argument for more immigration: ‘We're not going to have anyone around to wipe our a–es'
Rep. Becca Balint (R-Vt.) has come under fire for suggesting President Trump's immigration crackdown will leave Vermonters without 'anyone around to wipe our a–es.' The congresswoman made the outrageous claim — which she herself called 'crude' — during a town hall in Newport, Vt., last week, in response to a question about US immigration policy. 'Our economy is completely bound up in immigration and migrant labor,' Balint told her constituents. 'We have to come to a place in Congress where it is no longer a political issue, but we see it as an existential issue for the country.' Advertisement 'If we don't have avenues for people to come here legally to work or to build a home here, I'm going to be really crude right now — we're not going to have anybody around to wipe our a–es because we don't have enough people in our country now to fill the jobs that we have.' 3 Balint made the crude comment during a town hall in Vermont on May 28. Becca Balient/YouTube 'We also want to make sure that we have an adult conversation in Congress' about immigration, Vermont's sole congressional rep continued. Advertisement Vermont Republican Party Chairman Paul Dame demanded that Balint apologize to Vermont's immigrant community for the 'disturbing sentiment' expressed in her remarks. 'Congresswoman Balint should apologize — not only for her crude choice of words, but more importantly for the disturbing sentiment that the primary purpose of immigration is to perform labor that she deems beneath the dignity of others,' Dame said in a statement. 3 Vermont's GOP chairman demanded Balint apologize for the remark. Becca Balient/YouTube 'At the heart of these remarks is an opinion so offensive and so profoundly out of touch that it reveals a fundamental lack of respect for those who come to this country — abiding by the rules — in pursuit of freedom, opportunity, and a better life,' he added. Advertisement Dame noted that immigrants in the Green Mountain State have held 'remarkable careers in high-tech fields,' served as 'world-class physicians' in Vermont hospitals, and are 'critical to our small business community, providing a wide array of goods and services that enrich our state.' 'The way Congresswoman Balint reduced Vermont's hard-working legal immigrants to little more than 'a– wipers' is embarrassing,' the GOP chairman argued. 'She owes them — and all Vermonters — an apology for such a shameful characterization.' 3 Balint, a former teacher, has served in the House of Representatives since 2023. AP The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) highlighted Balint's comments on Wednesday, arguing that the congresswoman was promoting 'open borders.' Advertisement 'While complaining about President Trump deporting illegal immigrants, Vermont Democrat Becca Balint claims: 'We're not going to have anyone around to wipe our a–es.' Democrats' goal is, was and always will be open borders,' the NRCC wrote on X. Mark Coester, the congresswoman's 2026 GOP opponent for Vermont's at-large congressional district, quipped that 'from this day forward,' Balint 'will not be remembered only for her incompetence but more for her INCONTINENCE.' 'We all have accidents in life but no Vermont residents ever required illegals to clean up a messy accident,' Coester wrote on X. Balint's office did not respond to The Post's request for comment.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Democrat savaged for saying Trump must allow in migrants or there will be 'no one to wipe our a**es'
A Vermont Democrat is in hot water after making derogatory remarks about migrants while attempting to make a case for why immigration in the United States shouldn't be restricted. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) made the remarks during a constituent town hall in Newport, Vermont, that took place on May 28. 'If we don't have avenues for people to come here legally to work or to build a home here … we're not going to have anybody around to wipe our a**es because we don't have enough people,' Balint said. Paul Dame, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party issued a statement on Monday rebuking the remarks of Vermont 's only member of the House of Representatives. 'It seems that every month Vermonters are subjected to coarse and vulgar language from our federal representatives. Congresswoman Balint should apologize—not only for her crude choice of words, but more importantly for the disturbing sentiment that the primary purpose of immigration is to perform labor that she deems beneath the dignity of others' Dame remarked. 'At the heart of these remarks is an opinion so offensive and so profoundly out of touch that it reveals a fundamental lack of respect for those who come to this country—abiding by the rules—in pursuit of freedom, opportunity, and a better life.' 'Many immigrants have come to Vermont and gone on to remarkable careers in high-tech fields, including at our microchip manufacturing facility in Essex Junction, or have become world-class physicians serving in Vermont's hospitals. Immigrants are also critical to our small business community, providing a wide array of goods and services that enrich our state.' 'The way Congresswoman Balint reduced Vermont's hard-working legal immigrants to little more than 'a** wipers' is embarrassing. She owes them—and all Vermonters—an apology for such a shameful characterization,' Dame concluded. The progressive Representative's comments also drew ire from social media users. Conservative radio host Todd Starnes wrote on X that he had 'no idea the citizens of Vermont employed illegals to clean their nether regions.' 'Rep. Becca Balint is enraged because she's going to have to wipe her own buttocks,' he stated. The openly lesbian lawmaker said if Trump continues to crack down on illegals, 'we're not gonna have anybody around to wipe our a**es.' I had no idea the citizens of Vermont employed illegals to clean their nether regions,' Starnes wrote. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) responded with a simpler statement, writing 'that's nasty.' Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) asked if Balint's statement didn't come across in the way that she had originally intended. 'So did that … sound better in her head? Yikes,' Lee wrote on X.
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Dem lambasted for saying ‘we're not going to have anyone around to wipe our a--es' without more immigration
Vermont's sole U.S. House member was lambasted on Tuesday after video surfaced of her warning Vermonters that unless the feds increase immigration to the U.S., "we're not going to have anyone around to wipe our a--es." Vermont Republican Party Chairman Paul Dame said Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., should apologize for her remarks both because of the "crude choice of words" and "disturbing sentiment" that the primary reason for allowing immigrants in is to "perform labor that she deems beneath the dignity of others." "It seems that every month Vermonters are subjected to coarse and vulgar language from our federal representatives," Dame lamented. "At the heart of these remarks is an opinion so offensive and so profoundly out of touch that it reveals a fundamental lack of respect for those who come to this country – abiding by the rules – in pursuit of freedom, opportunity, and a better life." Dame noted Vermont has welcomed foreigners to work at a microchip factory in Essex Junction and as well-trained physicians in the state's hospitals. Mark Coester is a small business owner, fishmonger and craftman running as a Republican to oppose Balint in 2026. He criticized the congresswoman's comments and shared a headline reporting ICE arrested 10 construction workers one day later in the same town where she spoke. "Pack em up, fly em out," Coester wrote on X, in response to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., condemning the "dragnet raid." "Only an entitled Vermont Democrat would say such a thing," added former Vermont state Senate candidate Paul Bean, going on to warn tradesmen that the lawmaker purportedly "thinks you are basically a--wipers." Speaking in Newport, near the Canadian border, Balint said she used to have her middle school students take the official U.S. citizenship test as a classroom exercise. "And then they would take it home and have their parents take it. It was scary… We have to solve the immigration problem," she said. "I feel like in this moment we've forgotten that we actually can have an orderly immigration system that allows people, whether it's to come here legally to work, we all know our ag system in Vermont would collapse without labor," she said, calling the issue "existential." "If we don't have avenues for people to come here legally to work or to build a home here, I'm going to be really crude right now, we're not going to have anyone around to wipe our asses – because we don't have enough people in our country now to fill the jobs that we have right now, but we have to make sure those folks are getting a decent wage and making sure that their rights are protected…" anyone around to wipe our asses Balint added that supporting secure borders is "not xenophobic" but that there is "lawlessness" from the Trump administration's ICE and Homeland Security apparatuses. Fox News Digital reached out to Balint for comment.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
VAAP reports one self-deportation after Job Corps shutdown announcement
VERGENNES, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – The Vermont Asylum Assistance Project reports that 'at least' one student has self deported following the Trump Administration's order to shut down the Job Corps program nationwide. The Northlands Job Corps, Vermont's only center, is required to close its doors by June 30. Closing this establishment will reportedly displace over 200 students and eliminate numerous Addison County Jobs. Vermont unemployment rose to 2.7% in April Executive Director of VAAP Jill Martin Diaz noted 'When young people are driven to self-deport because they feel abandoned and unsafe, our systems have failed them. What's happening at Northlands is part of a national pattern of federal attacks on immigrant children.' Becca Balint responded to the closing in an Instagram video, saying that 'This is an incredible program that trains people in welding, construction, food service, automotive, nursing—jobs that are critical to our economy… I'm just so angry that they have targeted this program… This is why I'm so frustrated with this administration. They are hurting the people in lower and intermediate classes and catering to people at the top.' The U.S. Department of Labor is suspending Job Corps across the U.S. because it does not achieve the intentional outcomes 'that a student deserves', according to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer in an article from 'The Hill'. VAAP is reportedly urging officials to take federal action, halting the disassembly of Job Corps. and restoring funding. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
23-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
By Dawn's Early Light: Battles Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' will face in the Senate
"This is one big ugly bill that House Republicans are trying to jam down the throats of the American people under the cover of darkness," argued House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. at 6:09 a.m. Thursday morning on the House floor. Nothing could be further from the truth. The sun was rising. "Why are we here at 3 a.m., fast-tracking this bill?" asked Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., during House debate on the measure at 3:15 a.m. ET Thursday. The House debated the package well past the witching hour Thursday, but lawmakers approved the bill just before the break of dawn. House Republicans squeezed out a victory, 215-214 with Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., voting present. There haven't been many all-night sessions in Congress lately. Especially when moving a piece of legislation of his magnitude during off-hours - coated with high drama and towering political stakes. But it's not surprising that the House had to burn the midnight oil – on three different occasions – just to finish the package in recent days. That's typical for massive legislation with exponential consequences. It doesn't matter what party or what the issue is. COVID-19 money. Obamacare. The infrastructure law. The Inflation Reduction Act. You name it. Congress works around the clock when they're on the precipice of doing something big. Whether it's good is another question. The week started with a Sunday night meeting of the House Budget Committee at 10:26 p.m. The House Rules Committee did the Budget Committee one better, meeting at 1 a.m. Wednesday. That session ran nearly 22 hours, ending late Wednesday night. The House then began floor action on the bill in the early hours of Thursday. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., gaveled the vote closed on the bill just before 7 a.m. Talking about Congress is usually enough to put people to sleep, but with hours like these, if you snooze, you lose. Rip Van Winkle, er, Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., accidentally caught a few zzz's early Thursday at precisely the wrong time. Johnson said Garbarino "fell asleep in the back" of the House chamber during the vote on the "big, beautiful bill." Garbarino and other Empire State Republicans lost sleep for weeks as they fought for a deal on SALT. They wanted a higher deduction for state and local taxes in exchange for their support of the bill. A sleeper issue, this wasn't. A new pact was paramount to passing the bill. Still, Garbarino was less than satisfied with the compromise. Perhaps it gets changed in the Senate. Garbarino can only dream. If you heard a creaky noise on the north side of the U.S. Capitol Thursday, that was the Senate awakening from its legislative slumber. The Senate has focused for most of President Donald Trump's term on confirming his cabinet. Legislation hasn't dominated Senate floor traffic this year, but that will change soon. "Our team is suiting up for discussions with the Senate side of Capitol Hill," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. But divisions are already emerging. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., abhors the House package. "I have already said that in its current state it's completely unacceptable to me," said Johnson. "I would vote no." President Trump wants the Senate to finish the measure and deposit it on his desk by July 4, but the Wisconsin Republican quibbled with Mr. Trump's timetable and demand for this version of the bill. "I couldn't care less if he's upset," said Johnson. Other Republican senators were willing to grant some deference to President Trump. But only to a point. "He's the leader of the band and he's a heck of a good leader," said Sen. Jim Justice, "But with all that said, I would tell you we don't want to get in a hurry just to meet a deadline date and everything. We want to get it right." Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., thought that July 4 was an "optimistic" deadline. "Look at how long it's taken the House to get to this point," said Tillis. "There's still a lot of decisions to be made. So I think we're talking about weeks or months." And the Senate will inevitably change the measure. "The Senate's going to want to put its own stamp on this. We'll write our own version of the bill," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. Senators are already making their demands. "I'm not voting to raise the debt ceiling $5 trillion, because that's not fiscally responsible and that's not conservative," said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Trimming deficits worried other senators. "Don't get high on our horse here that we've somehow made some major advancement of reducing spending because we didn't," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. What winds up in the bill hinges on a solitary factor. "We've got to get to 51 votes," said Tillis. Senate Democrats are also thinking about the number 51, but in the context of 2026. Democrats believe this bill might help them get 51 Senate seats in the midterms. "Based on what the House has passed our, chances of taking back the Senate have just increased," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. House Democrats believe the early morning roll call vote in House will be the seminal ballot cast in this session of Congress. "This day may very well turn out to be the day that House Republicans lost control of the United States House of Representatives," said Jeffries. That's not a newsflash. Both parties customarily focus on a handful of votes each body takes over the course of a two-year Congress. They deploy the results of those votes against their opponents. Take a look at the tiny script on the lower portion of the TV screen when ads for the midterms begin running in September and October next year. You can bet Democrats will document the vote which closed at dawn Thursday. Moreover, Republicans are stashing all of their political eggs in one basket. The bulk of President Trump's agenda is tucked into this singular measure – for better or worse. Lawmakers must fund the government later this year. And next year, too. But after that, it's unclear if Republicans have any other legislation which would compete with the breadth of this bill. Jeffries alleged that Republicans tried to advance the bill "under the cover of darkness." That isn't accurate. Democrats - and Republicans – will work to make sure voters know all about this bill. The political consequences of this legislation are too significant. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And voters will decide just how "beautiful" this big bill is.
