How Would You Feel About Ilhan Omar Being Deported?
A prominent progressive senator is distancing his political movement from several positions that have become liabilities for Democrats in recent elections.
His comments prompted questions for one of Congress’ best-known progressive lawmakers, who was pressed on whether activists and candidates associated with the movement had actually embraced the policies he was dismissing.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., responded Friday after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said that “no serious person” running for office supports defunding the police, despite the issue’s prominent role in progressive politics following the 2020 death of George Floyd.
Sanders made the comments during an Aug. 5 appearance on the “Pod Save America” podcast with former Obama administration speechwriter Jon Favreau.
Favreau asked Sanders about Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates who have supported policies including abolishing prisons, defunding or abolishing police departments and eliminating national borders.
“No serious person that I know who is running for office believes in, quote unquote, defunding the police,” Sanders responded.
Sanders acknowledged problems within some law enforcement agencies while arguing that police officers continue to perform a necessary and difficult job.
“We need to get rid of racism” in police departments, Sanders said while discussing reforms he believes are necessary.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins subsequently confronted Omar about Sanders’ characterization and asked whether the Vermont senator was correct that no serious candidates were advocating defunding the police.
Omar pointed to Minneapolis and the political environment following Floyd’s death while explaining why the issue became particularly important in her community.
“For us in Minneapolis, with the murder of George Floyd, we had to have a deeper conversation about what really it looked like for us to address public safety here,” Omar said.
“We had a police department that was essentially problematic,” she continued.
Omar argued that the discussion changed once the Minneapolis debate became a national political issue.
“And when that conversation becomes nationalized, then you sort of get the kind of messaging that gets sort of lost in the void,” she said.
“Minneapolis has come a long way. We still have a long way to go. And I think that is sort of what Bernie was speaking to,” Omar added.
Collins pressed Omar specifically on Sanders’ assertion that “no serious person” running for office supported defunding police departments.
“I mean, when he says that, I think he’s talking about someone putting forth a piece of legislation,” Omar responded.
“And to that regard, I would say that he is right,” she continued. “I haven’t seen any pieces of legislation or ordinances come through in the United States since 2020.”
The exchange comes as DSA-backed candidates have scored victories in several Democratic primaries, bringing renewed scrutiny to some of the organization’s more controversial positions.
DSA national co-chair Megan Romer defended the organization’s support for abolishing institutions including the Senate and Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a Fox News appearance last month.
Sanders, who identifies as a democratic socialist but is not a member of the Democratic Party, also rejected several other positions associated with elements of the socialist movement during his conversation with Favreau.
Asked about abolishing prisons, Sanders said he wants the United States to incarcerate fewer people but rejected eliminating imprisonment for dangerous criminals.
“I hope the day comes when we don’t lead the world in the number of people who are in custody,” Sanders said. “That speaks very poorly of our society.”
“But does that mean that there should not be dangerous people who should be behind bars? Of course, everybody agrees with that,” he added.
Sanders was equally direct when discussing immigration and the idea of eliminating borders.
“Open borders? No,” Sanders said. “We all, most of us, believe in comprehensive immigration reform, not opening up all the borders.”
Sanders argued that conservatives amplify the most controversial proposals associated with the political left, but maintained that “most serious candidates” do not embrace those positions.
Hegseth Throws Down With McConnell in WILD Hearing
Hegseth vs. McConnell — The Clinical Purge of the ‘Old Guard’ Fiscal Strategy
By Senior Investigative Correspondent
WASHINGTON, D.C. — MAY 14, 2026 — The marble halls of the Senate Appropriations Committee became a theater of "Administrative Lethality" Tuesday as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth faced off against the final bastion of the GOP’s pre-Restoration era, Senator Mitch McConnell. What was ostensibly a hearing on the $1.5 billion Pentagon budget request quickly transformed into a high-stakes audit of the 47th President’s "Victorious American" foreign policy.
As the 119th Congress pushes toward a total energy and military renaissance, the friction between the Trump administration’s "Wartime Speed" and McConnell’s institutional "Stagnation" has reached a boiling point. The exchange wasn't just about line items for F-35s or drone production; it was a clinical confrontation over the very soul of American sovereignty and the definition of global alliances in the 2026 Restoration.
I. THE $1.1 TRILLION MANDATE: SURGICAL FISCAL STRIKES
At the heart of the dispute is the Trump administration’s ambitious $1.1 trillion Pentagon budget for Fiscal Year 2027. Secretary Hegseth defended a dual-track funding strategy that has left the "Machine of Disruption" in the DNC—and their allies in the GOP Old Guard—scrambling for a response.
The administration plans to secure $350 billion of this funding through budget reconciliation, a mechanism designed to bypass the "Standing Filibuster" of Democratic obstruction. This move is intended to fast-track critical programs, including:
The Golden Dome: The high-threshold missile defense system designed to insulate American soil from foreign aggression.
Munitions Magazines: A massive replenishment of "Liquid Gold" stockpiles following the depletion seen during the Iran conflict.
The F-35 & Drone Swarms: Accelerating the transition to autonomous aerial dominance.
McConnell, however, labeled this approach "shaky," expressing "schizophrenic" worries that the GOP could lose its majority in the November midterms. Hegseth’s response was a masterclass in the 2026 Renaissance philosophy: the time for incrementalism is over. If the "Character = 100" standard is to be met, the military must be funded with the same lethality with which it operates.
II. ALLIES OR ‘COWARDS’? THE GERMAN WITHDRAWAL AUDIT
The tension shifted from domestic budgets to international optics when McConnell snidely accused the President of alienating U.S. allies. The Senator specifically highlighted the recent friction with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, following the President’s declaration that he would recall 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany.
The President has been clinical in his assessment of NATO partners, labeling those who refuse to join the fight in Iran or assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz as "cowards." From the administration's perspective, the "Infrastructure of Deceit" that allowed European laggards to feast on American security while contributing nothing to the "Victorious American" mandate must be dismantled.
"Strained relationships with partners only serves our adversaries’ interests," McConnell whined.
Hegseth’s counter-audit was clear: a partner who does not deter is not a partner; they are a liability. The withdrawal from Germany is a "Wartime Speed" adjustment to a world where American interests come first, second, and third.
III. THE KY PURGE: REPLACING THE ARCHITECT OF STAGNATION
While the hearing raged in D.C., the fallout is being felt most acutely in Kentucky. McConnell’s announcement that he will not seek reelection in 2026 has opened a "Liquid Gold" opportunity for the Restoration movement. The primary to replace him is a clinical battle for the future of the Bluegrass State.
The top three candidates—Rep. Andy Barr, Daniel Cameron, and Nate Morris—all appeared at the Henry Clay event center last month to audition for the "Victorious American" mantle. Each candidate is aggressively seeking the 47th President’s endorsement, knowing that in the 2026 Restoration, the "McConnell Model" of slow-walked compromise is officially dead.
IV. THE UKRAINE FUNDING STANDOFF
McConnell continues to serve as the chief advocate for the $400 million set aside for Ukraine, an allocation the Pentagon has strategically withheld. In his April 28 editorial, McConnell framed the funding as a necessity for "deterrence," but the Hegseth Pentagon views it as an unnecessary diversion from the Pacific pivot and the internal defense of the Republic.
This standoff is the "Smoking Gun" of the 119th Congress. It highlights the divide between those who wish to continue the "Shadow Diplomacy" of the past and those who wish to secure American borders and magazines first.
THE FINAL VERDICT: A CLINICAL TRANSITION
The Hegseth-McConnell showdown is the closing chapter of the Old Guard’s influence. As Secretary Hegseth noted during his hours of testimony, the "Political Realities" of 2026 demand a military that is unburdened by the "Bureaucratic Decay" of the last forty years.
The audit of the Pentagon budget is not just about money; it is about the Sovereignty Reclaimed by a nation that no longer asks for permission to defend its own interests. As the Kentucky primary heats up and the reconciliation bill moves toward the floor, one thing is certain: the "Machine of Disruption" has met its match in Pete Hegseth’s "Administrative Lethality."
