Mark Morgan, a career FBI official who served as Border Patrol chief for the last six months of the Obama administration before being removed once President Trump took office, has come out this week in support of a border wall.
Morgan, who has kept a low profile since he was forced to step down, first gave an interview to Law and Crime in which he defended the White House’s desire to build a wall along the U.S. southern border.
The morning after Trump reiterated in a prime-time address to the nation why wall funding was worth shutting down 25 percent of the federal government, Morgan told The Fix that he’s breaking his silence because, in his view, the wall is an important piece in a group of policy changes needed to secure the border.
“I was removed. I’m standing up and saying, ‘I should have disdain for them, but I don’t because they are right,' " Morgan said. “I can stand up and say they are right because it’s the right thing to do for this country. I’m begging the president to stay the course.”
Morgan’s comments, which have been widely disseminated by right-leaning media, are sure to embolden Republicans as Trump heads to Capitol Hill to encourage GOP members to stick with him as some reportedly begin to lose patience as the shutdown enters its 19th day.