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Ask a Pol ~ interactive political journalism ~ what should we ask Congress next?

Who?

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) — Member, Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs

Ask a Pol asks:

Has the “war on drugs” worked?

Key Moreno:

“Well, we actually didn’t have a war on drugs until the operation that’s being done now [in Venezuela and the Caribbean],” Sen. Bernie Moreno exclusively tells Ask a Pol Drugs. “We had a conversation about drugs — but not a war on drugs. We’re actually conducting a war and that’s why you’re seeing the kind of seizures that we’re seeing.”

Moreno’s now lead Republican on SAFER Banking Act

President Donald Trump’s rescheduling of cannabis — how would that, maybe, affect your SAFER Banking Act?

“Well, it changes the big time, right?” Moreno says. “Obviously.”

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Ask a Pol ~ interactive political journalism ~ what should we ask Congress next?

Who?

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) — Combat veteran; Armed Services & Veterans Affairs Committees

Ask a Pol asks:

Curious your thoughts on the latest Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “scandal” — but more so the strikes that we’re seeing the US military do without congressional authorization against drug cartels?

Key Duckworth:

“We never had a debate on whether or not we’re even at war, right?” Duckworth exclusively tells Ask a Pol Politics. “The other aspect of this is, I worry about the servicemembers being put into jeopardy by this, right? We’re violating international laws of armed conflict. We are putting servicemembers in legal jeopardy.”

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Who?

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS)

Ask a Pol asks:

What do you make of this Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “scandal” — some say extrajudicial killings? Do you think this is good policy?

Key Marshall:

“This is a war on drugs… as far as I’m concerned, it’s war. War is ugly. Americans don’t like to see it,” Sen. Roger Marshall exclusively tells Ask a Pol.

Do you think the war on drugs has been successful?

“Obviously, it’s not been successful,” Marshall says. “I think that the open borders under Joe Biden for four years exacerbated the situation and just opened all the gates…”

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Caught our ear:

“We lose 200 Americans every day to poison. I think the emphasis is that it’s poisoning,” Marshall tells us. “They’re not necessarily overdosing. There’s just such inconsistency in the drugs that kills them.”

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Who?

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) — Speaker Emerita

Background:

After a handful of Democratic veterans in Congress released a video telling service members to refuse unlawful orders from their superiors, President Donald Trump tweeted, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

Ask a Pol asks:*

President Trump even disregards the attack on your husband.

*the best questions rarely end with a question mark. - Prof. Laslo

Key Pelosi:

“Yeah, and he made a joke of it, as did [Charlie] Kirk, by the way,” Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi exclusively tells www.AskaPolPolitics.com*

Like, how painful is that? Or are you just steel?

“It’s painful,” Pelosi tells us. “No, it’s painful. And I’m steel, but my grandchildren, my children are not steel. It’s a traumatic effect of his cruelty, is what it is.”

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*this exclusive was for one of Ask a Pol founder Matt Laslo’s regionally-focused, national wire service, TheLCB.com, but it fell through the holiday cracks so this is an exclusive to Ask a Pol Politics.

What would you ask your lawmaker? Let us know and we’re on it!

About Ask a Pol: We give listeners a front row seat to Congress. Transparency matters, so come inside the Capitol with us! Politicians disappoint. Ask a Pol keeps em honest. 

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Visit Ask a Pol ~ interactive political journalism ~ what should we ask Congress next? Let us know!

Who?

Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) — Member, Judiciary Committee

Ask a Pol asks:

After pulling out all stops to try and quash the bipartisan effort to release the Epstein files, both President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson changed their tunes at the end and said they were fine releasing the files. Does that signal that your work isn’t done and GOP leaders have something up their sleeves, even after the House of Representatives approved the bill 427 to 1 before the Senate unanimously passed the measure President Trump signed into law earlier this week?

Key Balint:

“We’re very, very worried,” Rep. Becca Balint exclusively told Ask a Pol Politics. “If that f*cking happens to them, they’re going to be so devastated, because they feel like every single step of the way, they thought they were getting to action.

“And it was so moving and so powerful what these women had to say. And yeah, they’re worried they’re going to be dragged through all of this only to have it snatched at the last minute. Yes, that is my concern, that this is what [Speaker Mike] Johnson is sort of teeing up for, ‘Yeah, fine, we’ll do this because it’s not going to happen.’”

*Discharge Petition explainer: The Speaker has godlike control of everything that happens in the US House of Representatives, but if more than half the members of the 435 person chamber — typically 218, though the number fluctuates based on vacant seats — sign off on a discharge petition, House rules mandate the measure come before the full chamber for debate and a vote.

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Who?

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) — Member, Senate Ethics and Appropriations Committees

Ask a Pol asks:

What do you make of President Donald Trump saying the US government owes him $230 million because of past Department of Justice prosecutions of him?

Key Fischer:

“Don’t know,” Sen. Deb Fischer exclusively tells Ask a Pol Politics. “I’m serious. I’m not focused on that.”

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Caught our ear:

“You always ask me questions I really don’t care about,” Fischer tells us.

About Ask a Pol: We give listeners a front row seat to Congress. Transparency matters, so come inside the Capitol with us! Politicians disappoint. Ask a Pol keeps em honest. 

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Who?

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)

Ask a Pol asks:

Do you have concerns about Biden’s autopen signing pardons at the end?

Key Johnson:

“Yeah. We all should be,” Sen. Ron Johnson exclusively tells Ask a Pol. “It all speaks to the question: who was in charge? Okay? And that’s a serious question.

“And again, what we’re doing in my committee is, we’re interviewing the constitutional officers: ‘What’d you know? What’d you see?’ Provide historical record.”

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Caught our ear:

If Biden did use the autopen, would that negate his pardons?

“It probably would,” Johnson tells us.

And then what happens? Should we see prosecutions?

“Depends on what crimes people may have committed,” Johnson says.

Yeah?

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Visit Ask a Pol ~ interactive political journalism ~ what should we ask Congress next? Let us know!

Who?

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) — Member, Senate Judiciary Committee

Ask a Pol asks:

Curious your thoughts on the new House Oversight Committee report Chair James Comer dropped this week, arguing many of former President Joe Biden’s end-of-term pardons should be voided because they were allegedly signed with an autopen?

Key Schiff:

“I hope there will be an analysis by Republicans of [President Donald] Trump’s pardon of 1,550 people. He must have a very fast hand to have signed all those, so I look forward to Comer announcing that investigation.”

But are you worried at all, because they’re sending the report to DOJ and making a formal case against you, potentially, in the courts?

“No, I’m not concerned about it,” Schiff says. “As I said at the time, I didn’t think President Biden should be issuing pardons.”

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Caught our ear:

“It is all part of a broader portrait of an administration that is trying to silence and intimidate critics — at universities and law firms, in private companies, among media organizations — so it’s all part of the same whole,” Schiff tells us. “Very much a part of the wannabe dictator’s playbook.”

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Visit Ask a Pol ~ interactive political journalism ~What should we ask Congress next? Let us know!In our latest episode,

Who?

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) — Chair, Senate Commerce Committee*

Ask a Pol asks:

Sounds like you’d welcome a Senate run from Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX)?

Key Cruz:

“Sadly, today’s Democrat Party has no shortage on crazy,” Sen. Ted Cruz exclusively tells Ask a Pol.

About Ask a Pol: We give listeners a front row seat to Congress. Transparency matters, so come inside the Capitol with us! Politicians disappoint. Ask a Pol keeps em honest. 

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Who?

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)

Ask a Pol asks:

Are you worried about what Democrats are warning about, these huge health insurance premium hikes slated to hit folks back in Iowa in the new year?

Key Ernst:

“These were expanded premium subsidies for Covid,” Sen. Joni Ernst exclusively tells Ask a Pol. “And when people talk about subsidies going away — subsidies are not going away. The expanded subsidies are going away, but we still have subsidies.”

Caught our ear:

Feels like there’s not dialogue happening about how to end the government shutdown?

“No, I think there is dialogue,” Ernst tells us. “It’s on a much smaller scale.”

About Ask a Pol: We give listeners a front row seat to Congress. Transparency matters, so come inside the Capitol with us! Politicians disappoint. Ask a Pol keeps em honest. 

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapolpolitics.com/subscribe