NEW: Dem Sen Chris Van Hollen's visit to MS-13 gang member in El Salvador likely paid for by taxpayers: report

Sen. Chris Van Hollen's (D-MD) trip to El Salvador to visit alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who Democrats are demanding be returned to the United States, was likely paid for by taxpayer funds, according to a report at the Daily Caller.

The Caller's Amber Duke reported that six people familiar with how travel is paid for informed the outlet that the bill for Van Hollen's trip was likely paid for using government resources. Three Senate aides, as well as one former aide, said the trip was a likely Congressional Member Delegation (CODEL) trip, in which members of Congress take an official trip, and they are usually funded by government resources.

On Wednesday, Van Hollen flew to El Salvador after he vowed to pay a visit to Abrego Garcia after he was deported by the Trump administration.

Abrego Garcia was deported by the Trump administration despite a prior withholding removal order that was issued in 2019. The foreign national told the judge that he would be targeted by MS-13's rival gang in El Salvador, Barrio 18. The case has brought national attention, as the alleged gang member has been portrayed as a "Maryland father" in other media reports. Abrego Garcia's wife has also previously alleged that he violently beat her, and would do so repeatedly.

"If I had to bet, this trip was funded with taxpayer dollars. Regardless, it’s insane that Democrats are more concerned about illegal immigrant gang members being sent home than their constituents’ safety," one senior aide told the outlet about the trip likely being paid for by taxpayers. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Van Hollen’s little PR stunt to support an illegal alien was actually paid for by hardworking Americans,” one other Senate aide added in commets to the Caller. 

“Democrats like Van Hollen are more outraged by a justified deportation than they are by horrific crimes committed by criminal illegals in the US. This little trip is a perfect example of why Americans overwhelmingly voted for President Trump and his commonsense immigration policies. Van Hollen’s potentially taxpayer-funded trip might play well with radical liberals on the East and West Coast, but regular Americans just want to know whether they have to foot the bill."