Kevin McCarthy finds links between China, fentanyl and US sovereignty in Clovis visit

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pivoted quickly from an oddly-worded question about China, balloons and objects shot out of the sky at a media conference at the Clovis Veterans Memorial building on Tuesday, taking aim at reducing a U.S. dependence on Chinese industry, U.S. sovereignty, the Southern border and fentanyl trafficking.

“Even before the balloon, in Congress, we created the select committee on China, where Republicans and Democrats can speak together with one voice,” said McCarthy, who started his day at the 2023 World Ag Expo in Tulare. “I’m concerned about the balloon, but I’m also concerned about China, America being dependent on China in a number of industries, from critical minerals to medical supplies, pharmaceuticals and others. I don’t think America should be dependent on China in any different industry.

“I think if we can work together and speak with one voice we’ll make sure that we’re stronger. We need to protect the sovereignty of this nation. That means air, that also means border.”

The Bakersfield Republican’s busy day included meetings and roundtables before meeting the media in Clovis, the new northern hub of his redrawn congressional district. Retired Rep. Devin Nunes formerly represented much of the area.

Border

McCarthy said he is headed to Tucson, Arizona, on Thursday with a group of freshman lawmakers. The Tucson Sector of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection includes nine stations, around 3,700 agents and is one of the busiest sectors in the nation in illegal alien apprehension and marijuana seizures.

“We don’t have control of our operational borders,” he said. “Right now, a number of people from China are coming across our borders. We’re catching a number of people on the terrorist watch list coming across that border. But one of the worst things that is happening is that fentanyl is coming into America and killing Americans. More than 300 Americans will be poisoned today and die. These chemicals start in China, and tomorrow it will be 300 more.

“It’s the No. 1 killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. Those are your most productive years. Those are the years that you reproduce. Those are the age groups that if America ever goes to defend itself, those are the ones who fight the battles to defend us. It’s very disturbing to me that this continues and I think it all starts within China and we need to stop it.”

Fentanyl

In a 2020 report, the Drug Enforcement Administration stated that, “China remains the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail and express consignment operations environment, as well as the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States.

“Seizures of fentanyl sourced from China average less than one kilogram in weight, and often test above 90 percent concentration of pure fentanyl.”

Balloons

The three unidentified and unmanned objects shot down by U.S. fighter jets since suspected Chinese spy balloon was brought down on Feb. 4 over the Atlantic Ocean, McCarthy said, may not be linked to China.

“I’m not confident they’re all from China, but the largest balloon that had the ability to go over our military defense locations, as large as three buses, that was from China,” McCarthy said. “China actually said it was. We don’t know about these other ones. We don’t know exactly what they are. I have been in communication with the White House. We haven’t been able to retrieve them yet. These could not be from China. They could end up being used by an educational system. We just don’t know yet, but we’ll find out what they are.”

This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 8:50 PM.