Who?

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX)

Ask a Pol asks:You’re calling for an end to birthright citizenship — do you think that’s possible?

Key Nehls:

“I don’t know if it’s possible. It’s the right thing to do,” Rep. Troy Nehls exclusively told Ask a Pol Politics. “We need to put a bed sheet over the Statue of Liberty for 10 years. Just pause all immigration. Moratorium.”

Caught our ear:

“The idea that women from China can come over, have a baby, and now that little baby is an American citizen and affect our elections in the future — that’s what the Democrats want,” Nehls tells us.

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Rep. Troy Nehls (6-30-2026)

SCENE: Ask a Pol founder Matt Laslo catches up with Rep. Troy Nehls at the US Capitol and presses him on his call to end birthright citizenship — and a sweeping decade-long immigration moratorium.

Matt Laslo: “So, you’re calling for the end of birthright citizenship. Do you think it’s possible?”

Rep. Troy Nehls: “I don’t know if it’s possible. It’s the right thing to do. I actually believe that — you know, with what you’ve seen with immigration, and what you’ve seen with the open borders in the previous administration — millions, tens of millions of people coming across. We don’t know who they are. We don’t know where they are. The abuse that we have recognized and have seen and uncovered over the last 18 months with the visa process, the investigations — I tell you what we really need to do. We need to put a bed sheet over the Statue of Liberty for 10 years. Ten years. Just pause all immigration. Moratorium. Ten years until we can figure out what the hell is going on in this country. Who’s even here? How many are here? They are abusing the freedoms and liberties that we have. They come over here, they say they’re trying to escape oppression and all that other stuff, but then they come over here and a lot of them don’t even respect the culture. They don’t respect the President of the United States. You’ve even got a majority of Democrats say they’re not even proud to be an American. Then what the hell are you doing here? So the birthright citizenship — the idea that women from China can come over, have a baby, and now that little baby is an American citizen and affect our elections in the future — that’s what the Democrats want. A 10-year moratorium on all immigration. And let’s double up the Attorney General’s office in the states and go after and look with a fine-tooth comb at all the people that are here on visas, and how many of them have overstayed. If you’ve overstayed your visa, you’re out of here.”

Laslo: “So you think you agree with Trump that this is a win for China?”

Nehls: “It’s a win for anybody from any other country. Buddy, I’ve been down to the border several times. I went to Yuma, Arizona. And the number of people that come to the border and bring in women — when they come across the border, the NICU in Yuma, Arizona, the people that actually live there, that were born, raised and used there — they got to go to another city to have the baby because the NICU is full. Because of all the people coming over, and they’re not getting the nutritional care, you know, the trek across the southern border — the babies are probably having some issues because they’re not getting the nutrition, the stress. And they’re completely taking over these hospitals and these little NICU places, because the people that live in Yuma got to go someplace else. They can’t even go to their hometown hospital because it’s full. Does that make sense to you? A big bed sheet over the Statue of Liberty for 10 years.”

Laslo: “There you go. Do you have a bill that would do that?”

Nehls: “Maybe.”

Laslo: “Maybe? I’ll be watching. Have a good one, sir.”

What should we ask Congress next?

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Who?

Secretary Markwayne Mullin — Department of Homeland Security

Where?

House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee

Key Mullin:

“I’m not a soccer fan. I had never been to a soccer game before until LA and our opening day on the 12th of June. I loved it,” Secretary Markwayne Mullin testified at the Capitol this week. “It’s like becoming a NASCAR fan, watching it on TV isn’t as fun as being there in person, and being there in person was something to experience.”

Caught our ear:

“Now I find myself watching it all the time in evenings. I’m even going back through and speeding through games and it’s pretty exciting,” Mullin tells us.

Below find a rough transcript of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin testifying before the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Secretary Markwayne Mullin (6-25-2026)

SCENE: During a testy hearing before the House Homeland Security Appropriations — or spending — Subcommittee, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin offered an unexpectedly candid confession about the World Cup his department is helping protect.

Secretary Markwayne Mullin: “I’m not a soccer fan. I had never been to a soccer game before until LA and our opening day on the 12th of June. I loved it.

“It’s like becoming a NASCAR fan, watching it on TV isn’t as fun as being there in person, and being there in person was something to experience.

“And so now I find myself watching it all the time in evenings. I’m even going back through and speeding through games, and it’s pretty exciting.”

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Rep. Ayanna Pressley: reparations “not a plea for charity” — “this is about reciprocity”

Ep. — Rep. Ayanna Pressley (6-2026)

Who?

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) — Member, AOC’s progressive “Squad”

LISTEN: Laslo & Pressley

Ask a Pol asks:

As the US marks its 250th anniversary, where do things stand on reparations for Black Americans?

Key Pressley:

“This is not a plea for charity or benevolence. This is about reciprocity,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley exclusively told Ask a Pol Politics.

But the US has done reparatory compensation before, right?

“We have done reparatory compensation in this country for other groups. We’ve done it for survivors of Japanese internment camps. We’ve done it for coal miners living with black lung, or Americans that experienced harms from where the nuclear bomb was being built. But we’ve not done it for Black Americans and it’s long overdue. Reparations now,” Pressley said.

Caught our ear:

“The fact that 1 million Black veterans were denied access to the GI Bill, that they were discriminated against after they fought for this country — and that GI Bill was foundational for so many families of white veterans to build generational wealth, to pursue education,” Pressley tells us.

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The nation’s TV Networks are blocking me from training a summer intern for the first time since 2012. And they still won’t credential my 7 veteran team members.

I’ve now sent a personal letter to the Speaker, Minority Leader, Senate Leaders and each member of the Senate Rules Committee, begging them to intervene.

My Bureau, The LCB, has provided clips, W-9s, proof of payments, etc. — yet nothing has been good enough to appease Senate Radio-TV Gallery Director Mike Mastrian and Executive Committee Chair Nate Reed of Scripps (a streaming service).

Please, someone, help!

- Laslo

PS - below find a link to some of what’s cited in the video.

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ICYMI — something’s off at RTCA

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Who?

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI)

Ask a Pol asks:

Why did Speaker Johnson pull the AUMF from the floor?

Key Scholten:

“We had the votes for it today, and I, you know, I’m not one to speculate, but I do believe that’s probably why he pulled it, because I think we could have gotten it done today, and that’s unfortunate,” Rep. Hillary Scholten exclusively told Ask a Pol Politics. “It’s a disservice to the American people.”

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol‘s interview with Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Rep. Hillary Scholten (5-21-2026)

Rep. Hillary Scholten: “We had the votes for it today, and I, you know, I’m not one to speculate, but I do believe that’s probably why he pulled it, because I think we could have gotten it done today, and that’s unfortunate. It’s a disservice to the American people.”

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Who?

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) — Vice Chair, Senate Intelligence Committee

Ask a Pol asks:

Is Anthropic’s new Mythos AI model on your radar? Has full Intelligence Committee had any classified briefing on it?

Key Warner:

“Preemption makes sense, but only if you’ve got strong guardrails,” Sen. Mark Warner exclusively tells Ask a Pol Politics. “But I mean, we don’t even have a federal law yet.”

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Caught our ear:

“You don’t even have a federal law on — perhaps I don’t know — federal law on social media,” Warner tells us.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Mark Warner (4-29-2026)

SCENE: Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo corners Sen. Mark Warner about artificial intelligence as he awaits an underground Senate tram.

Matt Laslo: “How much is [Anthropic’s new] Mythos AI model on your radar?”

Mark Warner: “A lot.”

ML: “Have you guys had a hearing on it in Intel?”

Warner shakes head.

ML: “What’s your biggest fear? Like, are we ready for it?”

MW: “Thank goodness there was a, you know, a company that was open. I’m not sure every AI company would have been this responsible in terms of timing of release.”

ML: “Yeah?”

ICYMI — Ask a Pol founder Matt Laslo’s latest AI feature

MW: “For me, it raises a huge amount of questions about, you know, who can we rely on before this gets released into the wild? On a number of these issues.”

ML: “And yet here on the other side of the aisle, they're still talking preemption of state laws with a federal bill?”

MW: “Again, over a long-term basis, I've always said, you know, well, preemption makes sense, but only if you've got strong guardrails.”

ML: “Yeah? But I mean, we don’t even have a federal law yet.”

MW: “We don’t even have a federal law on privacy!”

ML: “I know!”

MW: “We don’t even have a federal law on social media!”

Warner’s about to enter a tram car.

ML: “My data privacy — Section 230 coverage — for WIRED, from like 2019 is quoted in like 30 law reviews: Harvard, Cornell, etc. — just because no one else was f*cking covering it! And they still aren’t.”

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tells Ask a Pol Politics founder Matt Laslo that while she supports descheduling marijuana because it reduces harm, it still leaves untouched the deeper injustice of people whose lives were damaged by the war on drugs. Her argument is that legalization should not just enrich the same people who profited before while leaving criminalized communities behind.

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Podcast Show Notes:Visit Ask a Pol ~ asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol ~ Let us know what to ask next!

In our latest episode — Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) fires back at the premise that Republicans need to retool ahead of the midterms, telling Ask a Pol Politics the only thing needing a retool is the “legacy media” that “intentionally reports falsehoods.” He then touts GOP tax bill wins: a $50B rural healthcare bond, 89% of seniors paying zero taxes on Social Security, and a $15M death tax exclusion to protect family farms.

Who?

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) — U.S. Army Special Forces veteran

Ask a Pol asks:

Republicans are at record low approval ratings — should GOP leaders retool the agenda ahead of the midterms?

Key Van Orden:

“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 exclusively told Ask a Pol Politics. “That’s what needs to be retooled.”

TRANSCRIPT: Rep. Derrick Van Orden (4-22-2026)

Matt Laslo: “...with record low approval ratings — do you think you guys [should retool]?”

Rep. Derrick Van Orden: “Me?”

Laslo: “No, just for Congress.”

Van Orden: “Oh, I don’t know. But should you guys retool? Should Republican leaders — should we — what? Retool it all ahead of the midterms or—”

Laslo: “What’s that mean? Retool your focus. Retool the agenda.”

Van Orden: “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. That’s what needs to be retooled.”

Laslo: “They’re terrible. Really. Yeah.”

Van Orden: “You get money back?”

Laslo: “No.”

Van Orden: “Guess what? On average, the American public individually and by family got back thousands and thousands of dollars they never got back. You know why? Because they wanted to get rid of the bill.”

Laslo: “Yeah. There’s a $50 billion rural healthcare infrastructure bond.”

Van Orden: “It’s the greatest expenditure on rural healthcare in the history of the country. 89% of all seniors are going to pay zero taxes on their social security.”

Laslo: “Yeah.”

Van Orden: “What about the farmers hurting? $15 million per person exclusion for federal taxes for the death tax to save family farms.”

Laslo: “Yeah, that’s all there.”

Van Orden: “Appreciate you. Stay dry.”

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Visit Ask a Pol ~ asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol ~ Let us know what to ask next!

In this episode, House Judiciary Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin decries Trump’s alleged violations of the emoluments clause from the Capitol steps, telling Ask a Pol Politics that Trump has never sought Congress’s consent for the millions he collected in his first term — and that the number has now grown into the hundreds of millions in his second.

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