senator. john kennedy (R-LA) Feuding with CATO Institute Immigration Studies Director david beale During Tuesday’s Senate Budget Committee hearing on U.S. sanctuary cities
Kennedy first mentioned some of his past statements in a tense exchange with Bill, “Don’t you think your exaggerated statements have damaged your credibility?”
Bill responded, “What exaggerated statement did I make?”
Kennedy added, “On February 11, 2026, you posted on Bluesky. My words – or your words, not my words. ‘It’s not enough for the Democrats’ video to tell service members to ignore illegal orders. They should also urge them to refuse unethical orders, illegal or not. There are a lot of things that are considered legal that are still blatantly unethical, and everyone should abide by this higher law.’ End quote. Did I read that correctly?”
Bill responded, “I believe you did. Don’t you agree? You think people should do immoral things in their capacity—”
Kennedy chimed in, “On December 31, 2025, you posted before God and country, quote, ‘They’ — meaning Republicans — ‘thought they could prank us into accepting ethnic cleansing.'” Ending quote. Your words, not mine. Did I read it correctly? “
Bill countered, “That was a post about DHS advocating for the deportation of 100 million people. That’s what DHS tweeted about themselves. The deportation of 100 million people would be ethnic cleansing. You would deport a third of the country. So, yes, there are people within DHS—”
Kennedy interjected: “Don’t you think that’s exaggerated? Give me another 30 seconds.”
Bill responded: “I think advocating for the deportation of 100 million people is ethnic cleansing.”
“On February 5th you quoted the following in Blue Sky,” Bill continued, jabbing Kennedy. “Your time is up.”
“Those are good, but there’s no enforcement mechanism. Sorry, let me try a better one,” Kennedy replied, adding:
On March 2, you said, “If you rule against Trump’s population cleansing agenda” – quite literally – “nativists will name you, threaten you, and hunt you down. These judges are far braver than the ICE agents who are violating the Constitution by hiding behind masks.”
Beale doubled down, “They were braver. They put their names on their rulings, and they stood by their constitutional rulings.” He concluded:
When I talk about “population cleansing,” I’m talking about their attempts to deport U.S.-born citizens—people who were born here. They also tried to deport them. So this is not a mass deportation agenda; It is also an agenda aimed at reducing the U.S. population, including the U.S.-born population. So these are not exaggerated statements. Thank you for reading my account. I appreciate it. This is good news –
When Kennedy was urged to finish, he concluded, “Wait a minute, Mr. Chairman. What planet did you just parachute from?” The committee chairman tried to stop Kennedy, adding, “You triggered my gag reflex.”
Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.
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