Sen. Chris Van Hollen Calls BS After Gavin Newsom Calls Unlawful Deportation A 'Distraction'

The Democratic senator, who recently visited a wrongly deported man in El Salvador, said politicians who aren’t willing to defend the constitution don’t “deserve to lead.”

One of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fellow Democrats took an apparent dig at him for calling the unlawful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia “the distraction of the day.”

On Sunday’s episode of “Meet the Press,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) plainly told NBC News’ Kristen Welker that politicians who aren’t willing to defend the constitution don’t “deserve to lead.”

Van Hollen balked when asked to respond to Newsom arguing that his party should be attacking President Donald Trump’s economic policies instead of advocating for immigrant’s rights, which he essentially called a losing issue.

“I don’t think it’s ever wrong to stand up for the Constitution,” said the senator, who went to El Salvador to push for Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. last week. “And this is not about one man. If you deny the constitutional rights of one man, you threaten the constitutional rights for everybody.”

“I think Americans are tired of elected officials or politicians who are all finger to the wind,” he went on, adding, “Anybody who can’t stand up for the Constitution and the right of due process doesn’t deserve to lead.”