PALMVIEW, Texas - U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz spoke about congressional redistricting and Mexico’s water debt to the U.S. at a top GOP dinner in Palmview.
The event, titled the Lincoln-Reagan Dinner, was hosted by Hidalgo County Republican Party and held at the Stallion Event Center. De La Cruz introduced the keynote speaker, Texas Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton.
De La Cruz recalled a time she met President Trump and the two were looking at a map of Texas and the Gulf of America.
“He turns to me and he says, well, Congresswoman, where are you from? I hear you're from South Texas, but where exactly? And we’re looking at the Gulf of America. And I said, Sir, I am from right here, Mr. President. And I point right there to the very most southern tip of Texas. And he looks at me and says, well, you barely got in though, didn't you?” De La Cruz recalled.
She said she responded: “I’m proud to be here. I'm proud to be in Texas.”
The Edinburg Republican knew she would not have much time with the president and so she had to make the most of it.
“There’s a clock. You’ve only got 30 seconds. You’d better say something good, and you better say something fast. And so I turned to the President. I said, Mr. President, I have urgent news. He says, What's that? Take a deep breath. Mexico is screwing us. President Trump, Mexico is screwing us with water. And he goes, Mexico's screwing us. He goes, James, get over here. Why is Mexico screwing us? Tell him. Tell him.”
De La Cruz said Trump told her that Mexico will deliver on its water treaty obligations.
“And you know what? He kept his promise. We've got water from Mexico. We're holding back money from the Mexican government, and we are getting South Texas farmers the water that they need and they deserve. And I'm so grateful for President Trump for listening to what we needed in South Texas and actually doing it.”
De La Cruz then spoke about successes she has had with the federal budget.
“We've been able to bring $1 billion right here to the Rio Grande Valley, (and) $280 million in a carve out from the disaster emergency fund. That has never been done before. And no other district got that money,” De La Cruz said.
“And why is this important? It is because of all of you, all the hard work that you guys did in 2016, 2020, 2022, that President Trump called me to his office in June, when all this redistricting was happening.
“President Trump called me to the White House. The Governor's office called me to the White House, and we sat down with their teams and my team. And you know what they said? They said, because of the work that each of you all did, from phone banking to block walking to giving those dollars.
“Mr. (Othal) Brand, when I went to your office and you said, I don't think Texas 15 will ever, ever turn Red. And what did I tell you? I'm gonna prove you wrong, sir. I’m gonna prove you wrong. And you still invested (in me). You invested, as many of you all did here.”
De La Cruz continued: “The White House said, Congresswoman, President Trump needs South Texas. We need South Texas one more time. Do you think that South Texas will deliver? And I said, hell yeah, South Texas will deliver.
“And he said, President Trump has asked you to lead the efforts in getting a majority and keeping the majority in the midterms. Theoretically, history has shown that the holding party in the White House loses the majority in the midterms. And he says, but South Texas works hard. South Texans believe and love their country, and we're going to ask South Texas to step up again.
“And I said, yes, sir. And so we have worked closely with the White House, with the Governor's office. We helped with candidate recruitment, getting great candidates like Eric Flores over there in (District) 34. Please stand up (Eric).
“And many others who are stepping up to run in South Texas. And I knew at that moment that we were going to have to sacrifice in Texas 15 and give to Texas 28, give to Texas 34, and give to the very new Texas 35, to give our president three new Republican seats in the United States House of Representatives.
“And it is because of your hard work. Thank you. Thank you to all the candidates who are stepping up. Thank you for making a difference. Thank you for the honor to serve.
“And now it is my honor to introduce a man who needs no introduction, our Attorney General from the great State of Texas, Mr. Ken Paxton.”
Editor's Note: Here is an audio recording of part of Rep. De La Cruz's remarks at the Lincoln-Reagan Dinner:
