Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) criticized the Trump administration's deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, calling it "a screw-up," while also rejecting President Donald Trump's suggestion to send U.S. citizens convicted of crimes to foreign prisons.
"Mr. Garcia was not supposed to be sent to El Salvador. He was sent to El Salvador," Kennedy said during an interview on NBC's Meet the Press. "This was a screw-up."
Kennedy, however, emphasized that he believes Abrego Garcia received due process, and that the administration has not, to his knowledge, defied a judge's order. "I don't believe that President Trump will defy a federal judge's order," he said. "If he does, I'll call him out on it."
Sen. John Kennedy on Meet the Press says Abrego Garcia's rendition to El Salvador was "a screw up" by the Trump administration but downplays it because in his view because "I don't see any pattern here" pic.twitter.com/fiSCJKCxcL
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 20, 2025
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national living in Maryland, was deported to El Salvador, where he is currently detained. Immigration courts had previously determined he was likely to face persecution if returned to the Central American country. Despite that ruling, and subsequent federal court orders instructing the administration to facilitate his return, the Trump administration has maintained that it cannot compel El Salvador to release him. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has also rejected to do so.
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While Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has called the case a "constitutional crisis" and urged diplomatic pressure on El Salvador, Kennedy dismissed the broader implications. "I don't see any pattern here," he said. "I see a screw-up."
When asked about Trump's recent comments advocating the transfer of U.S. citizens who commit crimes to prisons abroad, Kennedy unequivocally disagreed:
"We have our own laws. We have the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. We shouldn't send prisoners to foreign countries, in my judgment"
Kennedy also commented on other recent tensions between Trump and federal institutions, including the Federal Reserve, emphasizing that the central bank should remain independent and that no president should have the authority to remove its chair at will.
While Kennedy's remarks acknowledged administrative failures, he resisted labeling them as evidence of systemic or constitutional breakdowns. "Some day pigs may fly. But I doubt it," he said of claims that Trump is a consistent threat to democracy.
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