MAGA-aligned U.S. Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL), who is running to become the next Governor of Florida with an endorsement from President Trump, appeared on Fox News after two members of the National Guard were shot in Washington, D.C. allegedly by Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who received asylum in the U.S. in April presumably after he was vetted during the Trump administration.
[Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are blaming the Biden administration for allowing Lakanwal (who worked with the CIA in Afghanistan during the war) to enter the U.S. in 2021, and are claiming the Biden administration did not vet Lakanwal and thousands of other Afghans who entered via the Operation Allies Welcome program, a claim members of the Biden administration dispute. Note: As CNN reported, Lakanwal would have had to undergo extensive vetting to work with the CIA.]
Echoing Trump and Noem, Rep. Donalds said on Fox News: “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We have 2 heroes fighting for their lives tonight from DC hospital beds because Biden refused to vet the Afghans coming into the US in ‘21. His refusal to secure our border & implement basic security measures caused this. Unvetted Afghans need to be deported.”
(Note: One of the victims, Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, died soon after Donalds’ remarks; the other, Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, remains in critical condition.)
This is why our party’s base is fed up with D.C. politicians like @ByronDonalds.
In 2021, he held one position as a member of Congress. Yesterday, as a candidate, he went on @FoxNews and took the opposite stance-hoping no one would catch it.
Floridians deserve better; they… https://t.co/OCmtDEQXiB
— Jay Collins (@JayCollinsFL) November 28, 2025
Note: Donalds voted in favor for the ALLIES ACT, a bill that added 8,000 Afghan Special Immigrant Visas and sped up visas for U.S. allies during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Florida Lt. Governor Jay Collins, who is reportedly considering running for Governor with the endorsement of term-limited incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis, responded to Donalds’ comments by writing: “This is why our party’s base is fed up with D.C. politicians like @ByronDonalds. In 2021, he held one position as a member of Congress. Yesterday, as a candidate, he went on @FoxNews and took the opposite stance-hoping no one would catch it. Floridians deserve better; they deserve leadership with principles, consistency and true conservatism.”
Investment firm CEO James Fishback, who has announced his gubernatorial campaign and has vowed to carry on DeSantis’ legacy, replied to Collins: “I like Jay Collins, but we don’t need ‘100% vetting.’ We need 100% deportation of all Afghan refugees from Florida.”
James, you’re twisting a past-tense statement.
Stop pretending to be “America First” or
“Pro-DeSantis.”You attacked our President and Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis.
Stay in your lane. https://t.co/E8HRivBkoV— Jay Collins (@JayCollinsFL) November 28, 2025
Collins replied to Fishback: “James, you’re twisting a past-tense statement. Stop pretending to be ‘America First’ or ‘Pro-DeSantis.’ You attacked our President and Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis. Stay in your lane.”