A House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the State Department’s FY 2027 budget turned into a shouting match Wednesday when Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA) unloaded on Secretary of State Marco Rubio over a string of Trump administration national security appointments — and refused to let Rubio laugh it off.
Keating opened by putting Rubio on the spot, asking whether — in all his years vice-chairing the Senate Intelligence Committee — he had ever heard of Bill Pulte, President Donald Trump’s newly named acting director of national intelligence.
“Never heard his name,” Rubio said.
“Given all your years of experience and your position now — never heard the name!” Keating shot back. He argued that Pulte, whose widely reported misuse of confidential information Keating said had led to the prosecution of the president’s political enemies, had no intelligence experience — and was now in charge of the nation’s most closely guarded secrets.
Keating then turned to Elias Irizarry, a convicted January 6 rioter who Keating said entered the Capitol through a broken window wielding a metal rod, and who was subsequently hired by the Trump administration for a sensitive Pentagon counterterrorism post.
“That’s ironic given that he participated in one of the most significant incidents of domestic terror in our country’s history!” Keating thundered.
When Rubio attempted to interject — appearing to suppress a smile — Keating erupted.
“It’s not funny, Secretary! It’s not funny!”
Rubio fired back: “You can’t even answer your questions here.”
“He is interrupting me!” Keating told the chair.
Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) declined to intervene. “Do something about it,” Mast told Keating flatly — then refused Keating’s request to reclaim the lost time.
“That’s not how a chairman should act!” Keating said as his time expired.
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