Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) accomplished another rescue mission in Israel that has returned 96 Americans home.
Mills announced his first trip earlier this week. Late Saturday, he issued an update to say he has since retrieved 77 American citizens himself, among them Rep. Bill Huizenga’s (R-MI) son. There are plans to rescue more.
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?UPDATE: Our office and team haS now gotten out 96 Americans from Israel. 77 of which I was on myself.
We’ve also secured a charter aircraft that can hold 218 passengers. It Will not cost anything the Americans needing ti get out of Israel.
I’m also proud to report that… pic.twitter.com/lAfoq3l02D
— Cory Mills (@CoryMillsFL) October 14, 2023
“We’ve also secured a charter aircraft that can hold 218 passengers,” Mills wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “It Will not cost anything the Americans needing [to] get out of Israel.”
More than 3,600 people, including 29 Americans, have died in the fighting between Hamas and Israel. There are also more likely to be among the 150 taken hostage, including an estimated 20 or more Americans.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) called Mills an “American hero” on X.
“You continue to prove your unwavering, selfless dedication to the great people of our country,” Boebert wrote.
Mills similarly rescued Americans out of Afghanistan after the Biden administration withdrew troops from the country in 2021. According to the Florida representative, this time around the difference was he was dealing with the single ally to the US in the Middle East rather than negotiating with the Taliban and the like in Afghanistan.
“Unfortunately the same failed strategy and lack of planning by this administration exists,” Mills told the Washington Examiner. “A week and a half after, you finally saw one flight go out yesterday out of this Biden administration.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has since followed suit, chartering free flights for Americans stranded in Israel, which, according to his office, includes “many” Floridians. The exact number could not be revealed for the safety of those still in the area. US officials have also negotiated a deal with Egypt, Israel, and Qatar to open up the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt for roughly five hours on Saturday to allow U.S. citizens to escape.
However, the single flight facilitated by the Biden administration came at the cost of those rescued, as they were asked to sign promissory notes to repay the airfare. Mills lamented that taxpayers were expected to repay the administration while about $113 billion has gone to aiding Ukraine.
“My big thing is one US congressman shouldn’t be able to do more than the president of the United States with the whole of government supporting him,” Mills said. “If we hadn’t done what we done, one we’d still have maybe a hundred Americans stranded with no strategy.”
“If he’s unwilling to do his job, I’m always willing to do his job for him,” Mills went on.
This most recent violence arose after Hamas fired rockets and sent fighters into Israel over a week ago on Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday celebrating the annual cycle of the Torah scroll reading.
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Mills said he hasn’t received support from the State Department in his rescue efforts and has instead turned to the nonprofit NeverForgotten.org, which was founded by a former Delta Force veteran who partnered with Mills back in 2021 to rescue children from Afghanistan.
The Florida congressman has since returned to the states, following an “urgent” call from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) who is currently vying to become the Speaker of the House. Mills said that by Monday or Tuesday, a new speaker should be elected and “God willing” he will return to Israel “as soon as we convene.”
