Heard on the Hill
What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Rep. Vince Fong (R., Calif.) released a hype video about California’s 20th District, which Fong noted “is a powerhouse that feeds the nation, fuels American energy, and drives aerospace and defense innovation.”
CRUZ WAS RIGHT: In 2021, CNN fact checked Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), claiming that the lawmaker was “spread[ing] misinformation about the refugees…suggest[ing] the Biden administration was inviting terrorism by bringing unvetted Afghans into the US.” As the tragic shooting of National Guardsmen showed, Cruz was tragically all too right.
FACT CHECK: Ambassador Richard Grenell, the executive director of the Kennedy Center, fact checked the “sports ‘reporters’” at the New York Times over their coverage of the Kennedy Center’s work with FIFA, which is paying the legendary arts facility “more than $7 million to do their world-wide event FIFA draw,” Grenell noted. “The Kennedy Center has raised $120 million (and growing) in 9 months with just 16 people in the Development Department. Thank you, President Trump. It is already way more than the previous team raised in 1 year with 94 staffers. (We saved $4m in staff salaries in one Department alone by firing 78 people in one Department).”
CRYPTO PARTY: Great Opportunity Policy hosted Crypto Christmas at PubKey DC with Sens. Tim Scott (R., S.C.), Bill Hagerty (R., Tenn.), and Cynthia Lummis (R., Wyo.). Tuesday’s party included the premiere of a short film called “Crypto Capital.” It was a high-energy crowd of more than 200 people celebrating the GENIUS Act being signed into law and looking forward to getting market structure accomplished next. Sen. Jon Husted (R., Ohio) also stopped by, along with officials from Trump’s administration, Capitol Hill, and industry players from a16z, the Digital Chamber, Coinbase, Kraken, Crypto Council, Crypto.com, Chainlink Labs, Ripple, and CleanSpark. Plus, the bar was serving up Bitcoin Bee’s Knees & Crypto Crush.
CRAWFORD BACKS TRUMP AND HEGSETH: Rep. Rick Crawford (R., Ark.), the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, explained why he backs President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth drone striking narco-terrorists. “Those who appear ‘troubled’ by videos of military strikes on designated terrorists have clearly never seen the Obama-ordered strikes, or, for that matter, those of any other administration over recent decades,” Crawford noted. “I am deeply concerned by the public statements made by others that seek to ignore the realities of targeting terrorists to score political points. I call upon them to remember their own silence as our forces conducted identical strikes for years – killing terrorists and destroying military objectives the same as in this strike – and ask themselves why they would seek to attack our forces today.” In a recent interview with the Washington Reporter, Crawford explained why killing these people is America First.
SHE BROUGHT THE HOUSE DOWN: At the Daily Caller’s annual gala, Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), treated the audience of hundreds to a series of laughs at the expense of Sen. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.), President Joe Biden and his autopen, and the legacy media. Gabbard, who received the organization’s Woman of the Year award, repeatedly thanked her staff for their tireless efforts at keeping Americans safe.