Graham, Cotton slam Biden for throwing 'Border Patrol under the bus'

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Rep. McCaul defends 'overwhelmed' and 'under-resourced' Border Patrol agents

Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, responds to Democratic outrage over images that lawmakers falsely claimed showed Border Patrol agents using 'whips' to stop Haitian migrants getting into the country.

Republican senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Tom Cotton of Arkansas hammered President Biden Thursday for his administration's harsh criticisms of Border Patrol's handling of the flood of Haitian migrants in Del Rio. 

The Biden administration announced Thursday that it is prohibiting Border Patrol agents from using horses in the Del Rio sector amid Democratic outrage over images that lawmakers claimed showed agents using "whips" to block Haitian migrants from getting into the U.S.

HARRIS ‘DEEPLY TROUBLED’ BY IMAGES OF BORDER AGENTS ON HORSEBACK BLOCKING MIGRANTS, AGENTS FIRE BACK 

"Joe Biden created this crisis. And now he's throwing the Border Patrol under the bus," Cotton wrote on Twitter. "This will make things much worse."

Graham blasted the Biden administration as the "most incompetent Administration in modern American history" that has "scapegoated and demagogued" Border Patrol as they are "asked to do the impossible."

"The coyotes and cartels will appreciate the Biden Administration removing Border Patrol agents on horseback from this section of the border as it was slowing down their smuggling business," Graham tweeted on Thursday.

"This is yet another surrender of the border by the Biden Administration," he added. "It is only a matter of time until terrorists seize upon this debacle."

Several House Republicans stood by Border Patrol amid the accusations, with Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, telling Fox News on Tuesday that the agents "are desperately trying to carry out their duties despite being woefully understaffed and lacking the resources they urgently need."

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"If [DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas] is truly ‘horrified’ as he said, he should tell President Biden to stop playing political games with our nation’s security and return to President Trump’s strong-border policies that were working," the Texas Republican said.

"Close the border once and for all," Pfluger added.

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed reporting 

Houston Keene is a reporter for Fox News Digital. You can find him on Twitter at @HoustonKeene