The White House and Republicans are not shying away from battling with Democrats over the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

Their view: It doesn’t hurt President Trump — and may even help him and the party.

“Of course it’s a winning issue. Americans support enforcing the law. Common sense tells you this and polls confirm it. If Democrats want to talk about MS-13 gang members, we're happy to oblige them,” a senior White House official told me about the messaging in the Abrego Garcia case. (Abrego Garcia’s attorneys and family have disputed allegations he is in MS-13.)

The National Republican Congressional Committee, House Republicans’ campaign arm, went as far as to offer to pay for House Democrats’ trips to El Salvador as they demanded Abrego Garcia’s release — on the condition they “livestream the whole thing” and “snap plenty of selfies with your MS-13 buddies.”

“We’ll pay for the plane tickets, they just can’t forget to smile for the camera while they sell out their constituents,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement on Monday, coming after a group of House Democrats announced travel to the country.

That is exactly what some Democrats have been worrying about as their colleagues sound the alarm about what they see as the underlying issue: the Trump administration appearing to ignore the Supreme Court’s order to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the White House “picked out this case and this man because it’s about a subject that they want to keep in the news.” And California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), asked to comment on the case last week, said it was “the distraction of the day,” adding: “This is the debate they want. This is their 80/20 issue.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who traveled to El Salvador an met with Abrego Garcia last week, shot back at Newsom on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, saying: “I don't think it's ever wrong to stand up for the constitution” and that “Americans are tired of elected officials or politicians who are all finger to the wind, what's blowing this way, what's blowing that way.”

But as Democrats battle over the right tactics and principles, actions from the White House and Republicans show they are leaning in.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Abrego Garcia will “never live in the United States again.” The White House’s social media accounts have dug........

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