‘Not a valid excuse’: Tensions mount over possible House committee on Mexican drug cartels

Tensions are flaring in the House GOP as Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, continues to push Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to open the gates for a select committee to crack down on Mexican drug cartels.

Crenshaw has hit the airwaves in recent days to push Johnson to hold a vote on his resolution to create such a panel, and a source close to the Texas congressman accused the House speaker of slow-walking the effort due to budgetary reasons.

“Back in early February, the speaker gave Crenshaw a roadmap to introduce his resolution creating a Select Committee to Defeat the Mexican Drug Cartels – and to bring it to a vote on the House floor, just like the Select Committee on China,” the source familiar with Crenshaw’s thinking told Fox News Digital.

“Dan has done all of the heavy lifting: securing support from House chairs, coordinating with the White House to ensure alignment, and even speaking directly with President Trump, who made it clear he wants to take down the cartels.”

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Rep. Dan Crenshaw is pressing leaders to create a new select committee on Mexican drug cartels. (AP/Getty/ Pfc. Dominic Atlas)

The source said Johnson “claims there isn’t enough room in the budget” for the committee, however.

“That’s not a valid excuse for Congress to sit on its hands instead of aligning with President Trump’s mandate to secure the border and stop the flow of fentanyl,” they said.

Crenshaw said President Donald Trump agreed on the need to “kill the cartels” during an interview on FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria.”

“There shouldn’t be any real opposition to this,” Crenshaw said.

Crenshaw speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 4, 2023. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Texas lawmaker has been running a task force on the same issue, but has argued that a select committee would give him the necessary tools to combat cartels.

Select committees have much of the power and staff that regular congressional committees do, but they are impermanent by nature and are usually created after a resolution passes in the relevant chamber detailing the panel’s specific aims.

Crenshaw’s task force was one of several high-profile initiatives in the last Congress. Task forces on artificial intelligence and the attempted assassinations of Trump produced detailed reports and legislative recommendations for Congress to follow, though neither has risen to select committee level either.

Elevating the task force would undoubtedly give it more resources, but it would also require significant coordination with existing panels already overseeing border security.

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A senior House GOP leadership aide pointed out to Fox News Digital that appropriated funding levels for congressional committees have remained frozen for three years, given back-to-back continuing resolutions and Republicans’ push to cut government spending, making it difficult to find additional funding for new committees. 

The aide also noted that no new select committee investigations have been formed under Johnson’s leadership.

Johnson speaks during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington on Jan. 22, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Other Republican lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital agreed Congress should be helping combat the cartels, though not all weighed in on a select committee specifically.

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, however, said he would be interested in being part of such a panel.

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“Mexican drug cartels have grown in power and stature because the Biden administration allowed them to be the controlling factor for people who would come to this country not only from Mexico, but from around the world,” Sessions said. “So I’m in strong favor of it and would hope to be a part of it.”

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital, “I haven’t seen the contents of the bill, but anything to put a stop to them.”