‘I’d Be Careful What You Read’: 7 Times Trump Officials Turned Tables On Dem Lawmakers Trying To Corner Them

Members of President Donald Trump’s administration have pushed back at Democrats’ attempts to ask them harsh questions during hearings.

While Democrat lawmakers have attempted to stump Trump’s cabinet members, they have repeatedly turned tables on their preferred narratives by providing facts that are often not reported on by Democrats or the corporate media. Members of the administration, including Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, gave congressional members reality checks on issues ranging from the riots in Los Angeles, California, or the deportation of alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (RELATED: Pam Bondi Squares Off Against Purple-Haired Democratic Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro)

Pete Hegseth Turns Tables On Minnesota Dem Attacking His Response To LA Riots 

During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on June 10, Democrat Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum criticized Trump’s “premature and escalatory” decision to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines in light of the Los Angeles, California, riots that broke out over Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) arrests. The congresswoman attempted to contrast Trump’s handling to Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s response to the 2020 riots; Hegseth reminded her of the chaos that took place in Minnesota under Walz’s leadership at the time.

“Well congresswoman, thank you for the question. You are right, we are both originally from Minnesota and that’s why I recall 2020 quite well, when Governor Walz abandoned a police precinct and allowed it to be burned to the ground,” Hegseth said. “And [he] also allowed five days of chaos to occur inside the streets of Minneapolis. The police precinct, ma’am, was abandoned and burned to the ground and because of that, the National Guard, was eventually, far too late, mobilized.”

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While ignoring Hegseth’s statements about Walz, McCollum attempted to make the chairman reclaim her time so that the defense secretary would answer her question “on the budget.”

“Chairman, I have limited time. I asked a budget question, could the secretary please address the budget, thank you,” the congresswoman said.

“You asked about the situation in Los Angeles and whether ICE agents should be allowed to be safe in doing their operations and we have deployed the National Guard and the Marines to protect them in the execution of their duties because we ought to be able to enforce immigration law in our country, unlike what Governor Walz did in 2020,” Hegseth pushed back.

McCollum yielded back her time in an attempt to make Hegseth stop going after Walz.

Purple-Haired Dem Shouts At Pam Bondi As She Dares To Answer Her Questions 

Democrat Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro repeatedly shouted down Attorney General Pam Bondi without allowing her to answer questions about the planned merger between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

DeLauro accused the administration of interfering with ATF agents’ abilities to tackle illegal gun and drug trafficking, including fentanyl. When Bondi attempted to answer, DeLauro accused her of filibustering.

“What I can tell you is not going to be happening is ATF agents will not be knocking on the doors of legal gun owners in the middle of the night asking them about their guns. They are going to be out on the streets, if I can finish—no, no, no, you asked me a question, now allow me to answer it. So they’re gonna be out on the streets working hand in hand with DEA,” Bondi said.

“Mr. Chairman, I’d like an answer to my question,” DeLauro snapped. “And the question is not being answered. How many ATF law enforcement officers and industry operations investigators do you anticipate will be lost to attrition as a result of the funding reduction you are opposing? You are proposing a 26% cut to ATF for Fiscal Year 2026, as well as a 4.4% cut to DEA. So you’re going to merge the two agencies together and then you’re gonna shortchange their resources so neither one will be able to do their job they were assigned to do.”

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The exchange grew more heated as Bondi called out the congresswoman’s behavior.

“As I was attempting to answer your question very calmly, unlike you,” Bondi began, before being loudly interrupted by DeLauro.

“Excuse me, Madame Attorney General. Answer, yes or no. Tell me what the numbers are! I don’t want to hear all of your filibuster about this! Go ahead,” DeLauro said. “Please, tell us the numbers.”

Dem Sen Pleads With Hegseth To Tell Her Military Is Not Shooting Protesters In Minute-Long Tangent 

Democrat Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin went on a long rant about the U.S. military’s presence at the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles, California, and during the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020. She continuously asked and then pleaded with Hegseth to deny that he ordered the military to use “lethal force” against the rioters in Los Angeles.

“So your pooh-poohing of this shows you don’t understand who we are as a country, who we are. And all of my colleagues across the aisle, especially the ones that served, should want an apolitical military and not want citizens to be scared of their own military. I love the military, I served alongside [it] my whole life. So I’m worried about you tainting it. Have you given the order? Have you given the order that they can use lethal force against [unarmed protesters]. I want the answer to be no, please, tell me it’s no. Have you given the order?”

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“Senator, I’d be careful what you read in books and believing it, except for the Bible,” Hegseth answered.

Slotkin referenced an accusation made by former Defense Secretary Mark Esper from his memoir, “A Sacred Oath,” where he claimed that Trump asked if the military could shoot the rioters and protesters in the legs as they were filling the streets around the White House. These accusations were never confirmed.

Dem Rep Accuses Scott Bessent Of Interrupting Her Because She’s A Woman

Democrat California Rep. Linda Sanchez lectured Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on being a “woman” as he attempted to answer her question on Trump’s tariffs.

After Bessent told Sanchez during the House Ways and Means Committee hearing that President Donald Trump’s tariffs would only cause prices to increase one time, she accused him of talking out of “both sides of [his] mouth” by claiming that prices have already risen. She then accused Bessent of sexism as he tried to correct her.

“No, congresswoman, today we had a 0.1 increase—” Bessent began, before being interrupted.

“Please don’t interrupt me. The time is mine. The time is mine, please don’t interrupt me. I will grant you an opportunity it answer them, but please don’t interrupt me during my time,” Sanchez said. “I know I’m a woman, but please, try to limit yourself to answer my questions.”

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Several Republican congressmen then groaned.

“No, I’m sorry, but we get talked over all the time and I don’t want that to happen at this hearing,” Sanchez said.

Without giving a specific citation, the congresswoman claimed that Trump’s tariffs would cost households $3,000 more in good compared to the previous year. Bessent told her that these claims were “incorrect” and continuously questioned her on where she received this information.

“I’m sorry, that’s incorrect and I’m not sure whose estimate [that is]. And that estimate is from whom? That estimate is from whom, congresswoman?” Bessent hit back.

Despite the congresswoman’s warnings about prices, inflation dropped to a four-year low on May 30 after the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.3% from April 2024 to April 2025.

Far-Left Rep. Jayapal Attempts To Tell Marco Rubio He Violated Constitution, He Was Not Having Any Of It

Secretary of State Marco Rubio directly told Democrat Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal that he “proudly” revoked the student visas from non-citizens who “stir up problems” during a May 21 hearing.

Jayapal alleged that revoking the visas of non-citizens who have shown sympathies to terrorist groups is a violation of the First Amendment. Rubio repeatedly told Jayapal that no non-citizen has an inherent right to a student visa and that they can be revoked by the U.S. government at any time.

“Where in the Constitution does it say that the Secretary of State can override the First Amendment protections of free speech?” Jayapal asked. “Is there a footnote that I missed somewhere?”

“There is no constitutional right to a student visa. A student visa is a privilege … There’s a statute which says the Secretary of State gets to determine whether someone is a threat,” Rubio said. “We deny visas everyday all over the world and we’ll continue [to do so].”

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Rubio revoked the visas of Mahmoud Khalil, accusing him of “activities aligned with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” Khalil considered himself a “lead negotiator” for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, an organization on the front lines of an illegal encampment that saw protesters occupying the campus in April 2024.

Jayapal claimed that Rubio revoked the visa of Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk, who wrote an op-ed showing clear support for Palestine in Tufts University’s newspaper. At the time of her arrest, Rubio told reporters that anyone who wishes to participate in movements that involved “vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings [and] creating a ruckus” will not be allowed to remain in the U.S.

Kristi Noem Drops Hammer On Eric Swalwell As He Defends Alleged MS-13 Member

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem fired back at Democrat California Rep. Eric Swawell as he attempted to attack the administration for mistakenly deporting alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

During a May 14 hearing, Swalwell repeatedly pointed to an image posted to Trump’s Truth Social account of what some believe is a digitally altered image of Garcia’s hand tattoos to further prove he was a member of MS-13. Noem told Swalwell that he was “vouching” for a criminal and that it was “never a mistake” to deport him back to El Salvador.

“You vouched for [Garcia] when you said he was mistakenly deported,” Swalwell said. “I didn’t vouch for him. In that photo, it’s so telling that you won’t look at the photo.”

“You’re vouching for a man who is a known violent criminal. Sir, I did not say that, he should’ve been deported, absolutely,” Noem responded. “It was never a mistake to deport him and we will not be bringing him back to this country and staying here. If he were brought back to this country, he would be deported right away … This is unbelievable to me that you’re focused on a photo.”

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Garcia, who illegally entered the U.S. in 2011, was discovered loitering in a Home Depot parking lot in 2019 wearing “a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie with rolls of money covering the eyes, ears and mouth of the presidents on the separate denominations,” which represents a “good standing” with MS-13. In December 2019, the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed Garcia’s challenge to an immigration judge’s finding that he is “a verified member of MS-13,” according to documents released by the Department of Justice on April 16.

In 2022, police pulled Garcia over in a Tennessee highway and suspected him of human smuggling after local authorities discovered he was transporting eight passengers with no apparent luggage. The car belonged to an illegal immigrant named Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, who was sent to prison in 2020 for human smuggling.

Garcia’s wife also sought out a restraining order against her husband in 2021 and accused him of scratching and punching her eye and leaving her bleeding after throwing her laptop on the ground.

Noem told Swalwell point-blank that he, along with many other Democrats, backed a “criminal,” “human trafficker” and MS-13 member.

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