Matt Laslo

WASHINGTON — It’s an election year, and impeachment’s in the air in the nation’s capital.

After 187 Democrats signed onto the effort to impeach now-former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, restive Democrats have now turned their attention to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Recently, a group of Democrats led by Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) — an Iranian American — dropped six different articles of impeachment against Hegseth, ranging from the “reckless endangerment of United States servicemembers” to allegedly demonstrating “a willful disregard for the Constitution.”

Republicans say they’re braced for the onslaught.

“I assume we'll have all kinds of impeachments if the Democrats have the speakership,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) told Raw Story.

The more progressive wing of the Democratic Party is eager to oblige.

“Pete Hegseth broke his oath to the Constitution, put U.S. troops at grave risk through the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, engaged in abuse of office and conduct beneath the dignity of his office, and carried out unlawful military actions despite his obligation to refuse—including strikes on civilians and a girls’ school in Minab, Iran,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) said when she introduced her impeachment measure in mid-April.

“Hegseth’s conduct meets the threshold of high crimes and misdemeanors and warrants immediate removal by Congress,” Ansari — who’s already attracted more than a dozen co-sponsors in just the past two weeks — said.

But not all Democrats are on board.

In fact, even as they regularly decry Hegseth, not a single Democratic congressional leader has signed onto the effort to oust the secretary.

“Where are you in this effort to impeach Hegseth?” Raw Story asked House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA).

“We are evaluating,” Clark replied.

“Do you worry that all this impeachment talk could be bad for your party in November?” Raw Story pressed.

“No, no, no. We are, as House Democrats, we are keeping the focus on the rising cost for people and the connection to this war and Pete Hegseth — in gasoline going up, impacting the cost of groceries, housing,” Clark said. “It's a continuation of no explanation of this war but asking Americans to foot the bill."

Impeachments are rare. Or at least they used to be.

For their part, Republicans have also been whipping up impeachment talk in this 119th Congress.

While a few MAGA-faithful have sponsored efforts to expunge the two impeachments President Donald Trump racked up in his first term, others have gone on the offensive and targeted eight federal judges with articles of impeachment for ruling key parts of Trump’s agenda unconstitutional.

Besides Hegseth, Democrats have also introduced articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr., though that’s only attracted one co-sponsor since being introduced in December.

There was also an effort afoot to oust former Attorney General Pam Bondi, though it only attracted seven Democratic co-sponsors before Trump booted her.

And, of course, three Democrats have filed separate articles of impeachment against Trump, including 13 articles of impeachment introduced by Rep. John Larson (D-CT) alone.

That’s what Democrats are doing when they’re locked in the seemingly powerless minority on Capitol Hill.

And that’s why Republicans expect a flood of attacks on the president and his Cabinet if Democrats regain control of the House in November.

“Is it not a sign of things to come?” Wicker told Raw Story. “Then you have to have a trial.”

It’s not even summer yet, and campaigns tend to pick up steam in the fall, but across the Capitol, Republicans sense an impeachment onslaught just over the horizon.

“We're, unfortunately, going to see probably a lot more of this,” Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) told Raw Story.

While impeachment efforts are easy wins with the two parties’ respective bases, they tend to leave a bitter taste in the mouths of many of today’s increasingly tribalistic political class.

For many in the GOP, the Hegseth attacks are particularly unpatriotic because the cries to impeach him are growing louder as the Defense Secretary continues to wage war with Iran.

“It's frustrating that in the middle of, you know, the latest conflict against someone we've been, quite frankly, at war with for 47 years, they're going after our Secretary of War,” Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, said.

Still, Sheehy’s a fighter, and he gets the calculus of his Democratic counterparts.

“It's good for them. I think the reality is, politically for them it's good. It motivates their base. That's what the Democrat base wants right now, is they want unbridled aggression in any form,” Sheehy said. “And they feel not only justified, but that it's good. And, I think it’s just a political calculation they're making that this is what their base wants.”

And what the base wants, the base gets in contemporary Washington. Just ask Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and red meat-waving GOP leaders.

In the midst of the 2024 presidential election, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas received the dubious title of being only the second Cabinet member in U.S. history to be impeached.

House Republicans passed the measure along party lines, with three Republicans crossing the aisle to join Democrats in opposing the effort.

Then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) used a procedural trick to avoid a full Senate trial. In the end, Senate Democrats ruled the articles of impeachment out of order, because the charges fell short of the constitutional impeachment requirement that "conduct that rises to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor.

Republican senators say they’re ready to follow Schumer's lead and reject any impeachment charges as being out of order, and they’re fully expecting Democrats to move to impeach Trump for a third historic time.

“Oh, you don't think if they get the majority they're not going to impeach [Trump]?” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told Raw Story through a laugh. “That’d kind of make our day. We'll just dismiss it like Schumer dismissed the Mayorkas one.”

Republicans may be the only ones laughing, but they also seem to have an ally in at least one Senate Democrat who doesn’t like seeing his colleagues abuse the impeachment process.

“Is that a losing strategy for your party?” Raw Story asked of the effort to impeach Hegseth.

“You could describe him as incompetent, but incompetent is not an unlawful thing,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) told Raw Story.

So while House Democrats rush to impeach, Fetterman believes they’ve tasked themselves with a fool's errand.

“So yeah, like, Mayorkas was a disaster — absolute disaster! — but you can't impeach him for just being incompetent,” Fetterman said. “It's not what impeachment is designed for.”

Senate Democrats are mostly mum on matters of “high crimes and misdemeanors” these days, even though the progressive wing of the party supports many of these impeachment efforts, especially against Hegseth.

“It's totally understandable,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) told Raw Story. “But it's not something that can succeed.”

“Is that a distraction ahead of the midterms?” Raw Story pressed. “Or something you support?”:

“It’s understandable. I mean, he's a terrible leader,” Welch said. “But can it work? And I think we have to focus on a constructive agenda that gives people a sense that we're about them.”

Other Senate Democrats agree.

“Is this a distraction for your party or is that good?” Raw Story asked.

“It's neither,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) told Raw Story after voting on the Senate floor. “Over here there's not that same push.”

“Is that just because you Senators are realistic?” Raw Story pressed.

“Well, no. I think it's because impeachment initially, you know, starts in the House, and if they take the House, they will likely have the votes for some of those things,” Schatz said. “And then it would come to us and we would likely not have the votes. I think it's a function of the Constitution.”

“Do you think it would be good, though?” Raw Story inquired. “Like, for a few months — if you guys do take over — doing an impeachment for Hegseth or Trump?”

“The first thing we should do is focus on the cost of living,” Schatz — who’s rumored to be a replacement in waiting should Schumer retire or lose — said. “And the second thing we should do is focus on the cost of living, and if there's any room on the legislative timetable, we can consider other things.”

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), a close ally of President Donald Trump's, threw cold water on the president's latest attempt to prosecute one of his political foes in an exclusive interview with Raw Story

Raw Story caught up with Johnson on Capitol Hill on Wednesday and asked him about the indictment that Trump's Department of Justice returned against former FBI Director James Comey. Johnson went along with the idea, although he acknowledged that it was unlikely to yield any substantive results.

"I don't think there will be a conviction," Johnson told Raw Story.

The three-page indictment against Comey stems from a picture he posted on his Instagram page of seashells arranged to read "86 47," a phrase that some people on the right have said is a veiled threat. The indictment charges Comey with two felonies, one for threatening the president's life and the other for interstate communication violations. Comey has denied all wrongdoing.

Even though Johnson said there likely won't be a conviction, he added that Comey should pay an "enormous legal price."

"The harm of what he did is almost incalculable," Johnson said about Comey's post. "They should pay an enormous legal price."

"They put this country through the kind of political turmoil, investigations, and impeachments that Russia and China could only dream of," Johnson said. "What's the legal price they gotta pay for that harm?"

WASHINGTON — The American people disapprove of this Republican-controlled Congress, with a record-tying 86 percent of the public disapproving, according to a new Gallup survey. That ties this 119th Congress with the 112th Congress (2011-2012) as the least popular in contemporary American history.

While most Democrats are embarrassed by the new findings, most Republicans are in disbelief, with many blaming the mainstream media for their own party's poor showing as they prepare to change nothing before strutting into this fall's midterms.

"The only thing that needs to be retooled is the legacy media that consistently and intentionally reports falsehoods about the Republican Party or ignores our wins," Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) told Raw Story. "That's what needs to be retooled. They're terrible. Really."

While this Congress has achieved new lows, many Republicans say the public's dissatisfied with the unpopular institution, not them personally (even if their party currently controls the House of Representatives, Senate and White House).

"You mean public opinion? Buddy, we've been lower than whale [expletive] for decades," Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) told Raw Story.

The GOP's plummeting popularity is doing little to change the party's all-out embrace of its influencer-in-chief.

If anything, the more MAGA wing of the GOP argues congressional Republican leaders need to embrace Trump even more by ramming his agenda — from the SAVE Act's new voter ID requirements to the president's demand for a blank check in his war against Iran — through the narrowly divided Senate.

"I would retool [our agenda] to follow the leader of our party, Donald J. Trump," Nehls said. "That's what we should do."

That has Democrats scoffing that the GOP has become insular and out of touch.

"They're still largely avoiding town halls," Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) told Raw Story. "This is a complete disconnect with what's going on on the ground."

And this fall's midterms will be won or lost by the all-important ground games each party's able to muster in divided districts from coast to coast.

"Democrats have always been cheats"

While tax day's in the rearview, most congressional Republicans won't stop talking about it.

"On average, the American public — individually and by family — got back thousands and thousands of dollars," Van Orden of Wisconsin claimed. "You know why? Because of the One Big Beautiful Bill."

Democrats decry the GOP-only measure, arguing it cuts taxes for the wealthiest Americans while boosting ICE's budget by some $75 billion. Most Republicans say the "Big, Beautiful Bill" ought to be the party's rallying cry.

"Look, I just think we need to be talking about the stuff we've done, and I think we need to talk about the things Democrats are blocking," Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) told Raw Story. "It's pretty simple. I mean, we've delivered a number of very important reforms."

Roy's proud to have helped usher Trump's agenda through the Capitol, and now he's painting Democrats as obstructionists.

"We've passed a lot of them, but some of them have been blocked by Democrats, including funding for DHS, ICE and Border Patrol," Roy said. "So I don't think it's that complex. You've just gotta message what we've done."

Still, many House Republicans get the unrest, because they, too, are upset at the slow pace of the Senate.

"You got to look at when you say 'Congress,' it's both chambers," Nehls maintained. "But it's not really the House. We're not the ones that are screwing around with the football. It's the Senate, because of that damn thing called the filibuster — there's no mention of the filibuster in the Constitution. Nuke the filibuster!"

Nehls is a part of the record-breaking 58 House members — 37 Republicans and 21 Democrats, according to the Associated Press — who've announced they're retiring from Congress.

"They just screwed it up in Virginia. The Democrats have always been cheats. They like to cheat," Nehls said.

"It's funny because the dishonest media is talking about, you know, the redistricting and the victory, but they seem to leave out that they took it from six [Democrats], five [Republicans] to 10[Dems], one [Republican]. Because the average American would say 10 to one, that's a little extreme, but that's what the Democrats do. They're far left. They're controlled by the far left nut jobs."

"Dishonest media" aside, even some of Nehls' Republican colleagues are starting to see the light.

"Resist, resist, resist"

The remaining moderate Republicans in Congress are humming a different tune than the MAGA faithful like Nehls.

"Look, I think the American people want to see Congress function," Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told Raw Story. "They want to see it work."

It's lonely in the middle of today's more tribalistic Congress, as Lawler knows more than most.

"What we've seen is there's only a handful of seats that are actually competitive, which means that both parties are getting more and more polarized," Lawler said. "Which obviously makes it a challenge."

From his perch in the moderate middle, Lawler said Democrats are unified, but they also risk being painted as unserious obstructionists.

"The Democrats refuse to negotiate on hardly anything," Lawler said. "Their whole objective is just resist, resist, resist. That's not a winning strategy either. I think the American people are tired of that approach. You know, from my vantage point, there are a lot of things we should be focused on and trying to find bipartisan solutions on whether it's housing, energy, health care or immigration."

Solutions are a hard sell in the contemporary political environment where both parties have all but perfected the art of the attack.

With America now engaged in a war with Iran, Republicans say not to put too much stock in polls right now.

"We're in the middle of a war," Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) told Raw Story. "People are frustrated when it affects them in gas prices. That's what's affected them more."

"So you're not worried yet?" Raw Story asked the Palmetto State gubernatorial candidate.

"No. Not yet," Norman said. "And about the prices, they're going to come down with the war."

Other Republicans point to their party's ever-shrinking House majority — which currently sits at 217 Republicans to 212 Democrats — in this 119th Congress, which they say also shares much of the blame.

"I understand. Hey, and particularly when you have a one or two vote majority, it's going to give an appearance of confusion," Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) told Raw Story. "I'm not saying I fully understand people saying or thinking that, but it's gridlock — well, it's close to a gridlock, but it's not because of the members. It's the numbers."

For many Democrats, especially those on the more progressive end of the spectrum, their GOP counterparts are delusional these days.

They say there's little to nothing in today's GOP to latch onto, especially as Trump and his Republican allies demonize the neediest in their communities.

"It's very hyper-partisan, but also, it's attacking working-class people and the poor. They're constantly attacking them," Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) — a member of AOC's so-called Squad — told Raw Story. "And many of them are supporters, voters of theirs."

Without a presidential contest this year, political analysts expect millions of Americans to sit out this year's elections, as they do every midterm election. But Tlaib senses even more electoral discontent than usual.

"And that's why I think a lot of people are not going to come out because they're not inspired," Tlaib said. "Because nothing's changed."

And nothing's changing, for now at least.

"I get why people are leaving"

And that includes the mass exodus of elected Republicans.

"Like, I get why people are leaving, right? Because what's the point?" Pocan of Wisconsin told Raw Story. "If you went through all the work to be in the majority and you're not able to govern, what is the advantage of being here? Frequent flyer miles aren't worth it."

Pocan accused the GOP of losing touch with average Americans.

That's been on display nationwide, Pocan argued, as Democrats keep racking up special election wins in blue, purple and even red districts, as the party did yet again in Virginia's redistricting referendum earlier this week.

The record-tying dissatisfaction mirrors the unprecedented levels of unrest that have taken root in the electorate, which is why progressives have said they had to relearn the art of shutting up and listening to their disgruntled neighbors.

While Pocan and his party have promised voters change if they win in November, the six-term congressman has also enjoyed watching Trump and his MAGA-spray-painted GOP implode on their own.

"That's why we're doing so well in all these special elections, why we did well in Virginia the other day," Pocan said. "But hey, as far as I'm concerned, keep it up!"

WASHINGTON — The Senate may have done its part, but House Republicans made clear Thursday they will not rubber-stamp a Department of Homeland Security funding deal they say leaves agencies out in the cold that are tasked with immigration enforcement.

The Senate passed a $70 billion budget resolution to fund ICE and Border Patrol through reconciliation, the result of an overnight vote-a-rama, while a separate appropriations bill funding DHS other than ICE and Border Patrol stalls in the House. Hardline House Republicans have demanded funding for those two entities as well.

Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) warned that the partial funding approach is dead on arrival.

"People don't understand when you are going to cut out ICE and CBP, I don't think that is going to pass in the House because people are trying to run past that and talk about some reconciliation. But that is still an issue when you have zeros that zero out ICE and Border Patrol. That's an issue," said Self.

Self went further, pushing back on what he called a "skinny reconciliation" strategy, a move he said breaks apart appropriations bills in ways that undermine the process.

"That is not the way to do business. Don't chop up your appropriations bills," he said flatly.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) was more measured but equally pessimistic about a quick resolution, blaming Democratic obstruction for the gridlock.

"The House is trying to get consensus on it. It's just a tough, tough thing to do. Anything up here is hard, particularly as it relates to, you know, no Democrats helping on anything. The Senate did their job in a small way. We'll come to some agreement," Norman said.

DHS has faced a record-breaking partial shutdown as Senate Democrats have refused to fund the department unless major policy changes were made to immigration enforcement. Trump and Republican congressional leaders have blessed the two-part approach, making Self's resistance a direct challenge to his own party's leadership.

When Self was asked whether he was breaking with the president on the bill, he deflected with a pointed reminder of where power lives: "I am dealing with the House. The House is Article One. We are trying to figure this out in the House of Representatives."

WASHINGTON — "Weak sauce." "A joke." "A performance artist." That's how a West Point grad and Army vet on the Armed Services Committee described Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who is running the Department of Defense in the middle of a war.

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) didn't mince words Wednesday after Hegseth fired Navy Secretary John Phelan, effective immediately, with no explanation given, while U.S. warships actively blockaded Iranian ports.

“It's more score settling. The revenge tour. In the middle of a war. In the middle of a naval blockade," he lamented to Raw Story.

Ryan added, "He pretends to be tough but has the thinnest skin and is weak sauce. He knows he's in — and this is true, I'm not just saying — he knows, like, every military officer and senior leader knows he's a joke and he's a performance artist. So they all do not take him seriously."

Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), a former Army Ranger who served with the 82nd Airborne in Iraq and the elite 75th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan Serve America, piled on, noting the Armed Services Committee got zero heads-up.

"So it's very disturbing. We're going to obviously be pressing to get information about why this is happening and what is the basis for these firings," Crow told Raw Story.

Since Trump's return to office, the chair of the Joint Chiefs, the chief of naval operations, the Coast Guard commandant, and the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency have all been shown the door.

Just three weeks before Phelan's ouster, Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George mid-war. Phelan himself, a billionaire and major Trump campaign donor, had clashed repeatedly with Hegseth before Wednesday's ax fell after 13 tumultuous months at the Pentagon.

Hegseth sent Phelan a message telling him to resign or be fired, but Phelan didn't believe Trump was aware and began phoning White House officials asking whether the president even knew.

Ryan put it more colorfully.

"So Hegseth calls Phelan, tells him to resign or be fired. Phelan doesn't believe Hegseth, so he goes — literally, physically himself — goes to the White House to say, basically, like 'mommy and Daddy, is this true?' And Trump's like, 'yeah, no it's true.'"

Ryan concluded that with half a trillion in new defense spending demanded and the Pentagon failing audits, the ones paying the price are "our troops in theater — and literally every American at the gas pump."

WASHINGTON — Viktor Orbán’s stunning defeat after 16 years leading Hungary with an iron fist has elicited cheers in some corners of the nation’s capital this week, even as many Republicans would rather discuss anything but the strongman President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement counted as their own for the past decade.

“I was glad to see the people of Hungary stand up and send them packing,” Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) told Raw Story. “And we hope to do the same thing for the Trump administration's congressional enablers in 2026.”

The blow to what has been the steady march of the global far-right has Warnock and other political watchers praying the tides are finally turning back in democracy’s favor.

“Many of the repressive, authoritarian movements that we saw in the 20th Century come back like the mutant strain of an ugly virus in the 21st Century,” Warnock said. “So I’m happy to see the people of Hungary stand up in the way that they did.”

While the political left is cheering, many on the American right are now distancing themselves from, arguably, the Trump White House’s favorite authoritarian abroad.

“Sad”

After traveling to Hungary and campaigning with Orbán during the final days of the election, Vice President JD Vance told reporters he was “sad” after the wannabe dictator lost to Péter Magyar and his Tisza Party.

But in some corners of Capitol Hill, Republican leaders don’t even want to speak Orbán’s name.

“Were you following Viktor Orbán’s race at all?” Raw Story asked Sen. James Risch (R-ID), the Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“No,” Risch told Raw Story.

“Were you surprised to see Vice President Vance go over there?” Raw Story inquired.

“No,” Risch replied.

“Is it bad for Trump's brand that he lost?” Raw Story pressed.

“I've gone as far as I want to go in this interview,” Risch said.

Risch was far from alone.

“Was the [Hungarian election] on your radar?” Raw Story asked Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS).

“Oh boy,” Marshall said as the doors on a senators-only elevator pulled shut on him and Raw Story. “You know, I read on it.”

“Because JD Vance went over there…?” Raw Story pressed.

“Yeah, I know,” Marshall said before deflecting. “I'm locked in on things I can impact and things I can do.”

Orbán left a permanent impression on some of the last remaining moderates in Washington, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), when the Hungarian strongman snubbed the senior U.S. senator and other American policymakers on a taxpayer-funded CODEL — or official Congressional Delegation fact-finding trip.

“Was it on my radar? Yes,” Collins told Raw Story. “Because, I guess it was last year or the year before, a CODEL on which I was a participant, went to Hungary, and he refused to meet with us.”

“Oh, really?” Raw Story replied. “I bet that stings to this day.”

“But much more important than that, he was an autocratic anti-democratic authoritarian,” Collins, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said. “I’m delighted that he was defeated.”

“Are you disappointed that Vance went over there and campaigned for him?” Raw Story pressed.

“I was surprised,” Collins, who also chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations — or spending — Committee, told Raw Story as her aide hustled her away.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats were more disgusted than surprised to see the vice president of the United States campaign abroad.

“It's ridiculous that any sitting vice president is actively engaged in the election of any country,” Warnock said. “But in this case, the sitting vice president of the United States, literally, campaigning for Viktor Orbán, calling him ‘Europe's only statesman’ — he's a strongman. He's an authoritarian.”

Still, other Democrats can’t help but smirk at Vance’s faux pas on the international stage.

“It seems to have backfired,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) told Raw Story. “So, you know, maybe it'll have some bearing on whether Republican candidates here want him campaigning.”

“Cozying up to Putin is not a winning political strategy”

While Democrats are focused on winning November’s midterm elections, many say they’re encouraged that the global march of the alt-right was dealt a major blow.

“It was an amazing outcome,” Murphy said. “I mean, it shows that no matter how badly broken a democracy seems, the people, you know, are still in charge.”

Murphy says there may be another takeaway that officials in the Trump White House should note.

“It shows cozying up to Putin is not a winning political strategy in Europe or the United States,” Murphy told Raw Story.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said Thursday she has been pushing Republican leaders to hold public hearings with Jeffrey Epstein survivors, throwing her support behind first lady Melania Trump's call for greater accountability in the case.

"I actually have been encouraging that," Luna told reporters outside the Capitol. "A lot of people are scared about coming forward and naming people — and there's also this aspect of settlements potentially being reached. If there's a settlement, people are then sometimes asked to sign NDAs and so they don't talk."

Luna didn't stop there, leveling sharp criticism at the Department of Justice over plea deals granted to Epstein associates.

"The Department of Justice gave plea deals to people that they knew were trafficking people," she emphasized. "There is no justice for the victims that were basically seeing these people get off. And Ghislaine Maxwell should not be the only one sitting in prison."

Luna's remarks echoed longstanding criticism of a 2008 non-prosecution agreement negotiated by then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta in Florida, which gave Epstein and his co-conspirators federal immunity in exchange for a state plea deal. The agreement was widely criticized as sweetheart treatment that shielded potential co-conspirators. Acosta later resigned as Trump's Labor Secretary in 2019 when the deal came back under scrutiny.

Luna also appeared to acknowledge that her push to expel Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) from Congress was part of a broader strategy.

"I knew that when I brought the expulsion of Swalwell that it would set up a chain reaction event," she said. "And I frankly don't care."

Luna had introduced a resolution to expel Swalwell after a former staffer accused him of sexual assault and three other women alleged various kinds of sexual misconduct. Swalwell and Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) both resigned from Congress this week, moments before their colleagues were prepared to set in motion their swift removal.

Luna called on members of both parties to follow through on accountability promises, adding: "Sometimes that means calling out your own party."

WASHINGTON — The Republican chairman of the committee grilling Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday suggested Democrats weren't doing their jobs, while the panel's top Democrat delivered a one-word verdict on Kennedy's performance: "baloney."

"I really don't think that Democrats are asking strong questions," House Ways and Means Committee chair Jason Smith told Raw Story. "If I was in the minority, I think I'd be asking a different style. So it's kind of shocking."

Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), the committee's ranking Democrat, had a one-word response when asked about Kennedy's claim that he had removed politics from the Department of Health and Human Services.

"That's baloney!" Neal declared.

Neal also pushed back on any suggestion that the Kennedy family's legacy on public health could be claimed by the Trump administration.

"We built a mecca, as you heard me say, in Massachusetts with his family — Republicans and Democrats. It's entirely bipartisan on our side and we're not giving it up," Neal said.

The hearing was Kennedy's first before the House Ways and Means Committee this year, as he sought to defend a proposed 12.5% cut to the HHS budget — nearly $16 billion — while dodging pointed Democratic criticism over measles outbreaks and his administration's rollback of vaccine recommendations.

Democrats pressed Kennedy hard on a measles-related child death in Texas last year, getting him to acknowledge the vaccine could have potentially saved the child's life. Republicans, meanwhile, largely praised Kennedy's tenure, with one member calling his work a "breath of fresh air."

WASHINGTON — Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) appeared to break with House Republican leadership over the reauthorization of a sweeping federal surveillance law, arguing the government should not be able to buy Americans' private data without a warrant.

"I want the Fourth Amendment to not be for sale," Boebert told reporters on Thursday. "The federal government should not be able to purchase American citizens' data from private companies. This is a complete violation — it's a workaround from any kind of warrants and looking into Americans' lives."

Boebert's comments come as the House debates reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires April 20 unless extended. The provision allows intelligence agencies to collect communications of foreign targets without a traditional warrant, but critics say it has been used to sweep up Americans' data, too.

The White House and House Speaker Mike Johnson have pushed for a clean 18-month extension with no reforms attached. The House Rules Committee approved a closed rule blocking a warrant amendment from even coming to a floor vote.

A key sticking point for Boebert and other reform-minded lawmakers is the so-called "data broker loophole," the ability of federal agencies to purchase Americans' location records and internet metadata from commercial data brokers, data that is normally protected under the Fourth Amendment.

More than 50 House Democrats joined the push to include Fourth Amendment protections in the reauthorization. The unusual left-right coalition puts Boebert in rare alignment with progressive lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who told reporters on Thursday FISA has been a "constitutional crisis since its drafting."

"We've had a huge amount of problems with warrantless surveillance wiretapping against American civilians," she said.

She accused Republicans of using national security as an "excuse to invade and violate the civil rights of everyday Americans."

President Donald Trump on Wednesday reiterated that he had reversed his stance on the surveillance tool and bill he long complained contributed to the "witch hunt" of him.

WASHINGTON — Congress erupted in skepticism, curiosity and outright disbelief on Wednesday as President Donald Trump promised to release classified UFO files and the Pentagon blew past its April 14 deadline to respond to lawmakers' demands for disclosure.

The reactions ranged from cautious optimism to flat-out distrust and mockery, with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) admitting he hadn't heard Trump planned to open up the government's UFO files.

Even so, Booker delivered a sharp verdict.

"I don't trust him at all," Booker told Raw Story. "And if you need an example of why I don't trust him, look at the Epstein file promises."

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), co-chair of the House UAP Caucus, who has insinuated in recent days he's seen evidence of aliens, was equally blunt, but aimed his fire at the Pentagon rather than Trump.

"That's par for the course, dude. They're just gonna delay, delay, delay until they can get everything covered up," Burchett told Raw Story.

He said any bombshell release will have to "come from the top."

"I don't trust them as far as I can throw that dadgum dome off the Capitol," he said of the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, known as AARO. The agency is tasked with leading the U.S. government's efforts to address Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAP.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) noted that some of his colleagues have been talking to the White House and feel "encouraged that we might see some sort of release coming out."

"As you know, Representative Luna sent a letter to the Pentagon, and now the Pentagon says they lost the letter," he said, cracking a joke that that "makes sense" given the Department of Defense is missing trillions of dollars in its audits.

"It's time. I think it's time. I think the president needs to release it," he said, saying Americans know the U.S. government is withholding information from them on UAPs.

Moskowitz raised an alarming concern buried beneath the disclosure debate — noting that roughly 10 scientists connected to the Los Alamos nuclear program are unaccounted for or dead.

"I think the Pentagon needs to come clean," Moskowitz told Raw Story, calling for Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) to hold a hearing on the disappearances.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), who co-authored the UAP Disclosure Act with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), told Raw Story he "hadn't heard a word" from the White House about the promised release and couldn't confirm whether he'd seen 46 classified UAP videos that the caucus is pushing to make public.

"I've never counted," he said, adding: "I suspect that the Air Force might very well have been using the UFO interest to hide a number of national security products that were being tested."

When asked about disgraced former Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-FL) comments he'd been told of an alien hybrid breeding program, Rounds was dumbfounded.

"A what?!" he exclaimed with a laugh. "That's a new one on me. I don't think they're part of Congress anymore. Maybe there's a reason for that."

House Intelligence ranking member Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) was characteristically dry, mocking claims that the U.S. could be hiding the existence of aliens.

"Discovered the aliens? Turns out they're crypto bros, and we've got them in formaldehyde at Area, not 51, Area 52," he quipped.

Himes expressed deep skepticism that the public will receive confirmation of alien existence anytime soon.

"I would love the public to see what I've seen," he deadpanned.

Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) noted he still hasn't gotten a straight answer about the mysterious drone incursions over New Jersey in 2024 — let alone classified UFO files.

"I personally have not gotten any satisfying response," he said.

Kim told Raw Story he received conflicting explanations from the Biden administration, which told him the incursions were "isolated" before they grew much larger. Then Trump said the drones were "something real" — before his administration reversed course and said they weren't. One briefing suggested a private company was responsible for some of the sightings, but Kim said he found even that explanation unsatisfying.

"I've never gotten a clear answer at all," Kim said. "Which — we're still pushing on it."

WASHINGTON — Catholic Democratic senators rallied behind Pope Leo XIV after President Donald Trump called the first American-born pontiff "weak on crime," blasting the president's broadside as a step too far — even by Trump's standards.

Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) summed up the sentiment of his colleagues with characteristic simplicity.

"I'm with Team Pope," Welch told Raw Story on Wednesday. "What can you say?"

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) took a more pointed approach, noting the logical absurdity of Trump's attack.

"The Pope does not have a law enforcement agency under its control," Markey said. "The Pope only stands for justice and fairness to make sure that innocent people like Jesus Christ is not illegally prosecuted. And the same thing is true now for the illegal prosecution of immigrants in the United States."

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), a lifelong Catholic, was appalled by the president's comments.

"That's just sad. That's disgraceful," Lynch said. "It's crazy."

Trump's attack on Leo came after the pontiff criticized the administration's Iran war, calling the escalation of violence "unacceptable" and warning against the "delusion of omnipotence." Trump responded on Truth Social, calling Leo "weak on crime" and "terrible on foreign policy."

The feud marked an extraordinary moment in American political history.

Pope Leo, born Robert Prevost in Chicago, last year became the first American-born pope. Trump's attacks on him proved uniquely jarring for the roughly 20 percent of Americans who identify as Catholic, a voting bloc Trump carried by double digits in 2024.

Trump has also separately posted and deleted an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ, drawing condemnation from Catholic bishops, evangelical leaders, and even some of his most loyal MAGA supporters.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jamie Raskin is taking formal action to create a congressional commission to assess President Donald Trump's fitness for office, and Republicans couldn't be less interested.

The Maryland Democrat, who served as lead House manager in Trump's Jan. 6 impeachment trial, told Raw Story on Wednesday that he is introducing legislation to establish a permanent body under Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, which has never been used in American history.

"I am for the body called for by the 25th Amendment as a standing permanent body for every president — Democrat, Republican, Independent," Raskin said. "The Republicans refuse to deal with this as a serious constitutional question, and that's sad."

Republicans confronted by Raw Story in the Capitol hallways were unmoved.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) dismissed the effort as "Trump Derangement Syndrome" and suggested Democrats suffer from "widespread mental illness." Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) called Trump "better than sliced bread."

"Listen, everybody's going to find a way to poke holes at Donald Trump right now, and I think it's sad, but that's just the way the Democrat Party plays," said Nehls.

Nehls scoffed at Raskin's 25th Amendment commission and waved off any notion that Trump has made "erratic decisions," despite soaring energy prices and the president taking aim at Pope Leo XIV.

"25th? Oh, come on. He's gotta talk about something, I guess. It's just absolutely ridiculous," said Nehls.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) called questions about Trump's mental acuity "absurd," while Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) fired back, "We should've done that during Biden's term."

Raskin noted the irony that his Republican colleagues on the Oversight Committee had already set the precedent by demanding President Joe Biden's physician testify about his mental fitness.

In a sharp coda, Raskin also weighed in on the resignations of Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) over sexual misconduct allegations, drawing a pointed contrast between the parties.

"I'm proud of the Democrats who take an emphatic stand against sexual harassment and for the rights of women across the board," Raskin said. "We don't see the same thing on the other side."

WASHINGTON — A Democratic pastor in the Senate sounded off on his Republican colleagues on Tuesday for trying to give President Donald Trump cover for his "telling" social media post.

Last week, Trump posted and then deleted an artificial intelligence-generated photo of himself appearing as Jesus healing a sick man lying in bed. It also includes the Statue of Liberty, an American flag, and people representing military members. The photo was posted on the same day Trump attacked the Pope on social media, calling him "weak" on crime and foreign policy. The posts sparked outrage from a bipartisan group of lawmakers and political commentators. Trump claimed he did not recognize the Christian iconography in the photo.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a Baptist pastor, told Raw Story in an exclusive interview that Trump's post is blasphemous, and that the way some Republicans have responded is "very telling."

"It's blasphemy!" Warnock said. "And it's very telling that those who speak for him and claim to be Christian preachers continue to do so."

Trump was sharply criticized by several prominent MAGA figures after he posted the AI-generated photo of himself. For instance, Riley Gaines said Trump "missed the mark" while Sean Feucht, a Christian nationalist pastor, called on Trump to remove the post "immediately."

However, some of Trump's allies in Congress appear to be giving the president some cover on the issue. Raw Story spoke with Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rick Scott (R-FL) on Tuesday, both of whom had little to say about the picture.

"What I read is that he thought that it made him look like a doctor," Scott said.

Johnson offered a simple "no comment" when asked about Trump's picture.

Warnock noted that Trump's photo also appeared to undercut the moral high ground he is trying to hold in the war in Iran.

"Donald Trump threatening to drop bombs on civilians on Easter Sunday morning is the opposite of the moral high ground, and in that same tweet, he ridiculed Islam, and two weeks later, he is making a mockery of Christian faith," Warnock said. "Whatever it is, Donald Trump is clearly not a man of faith, and those who continue to claim so are shameless."