Overview
- The exchange unfolded Tuesday before the Senate Budget Committee during a hearing on sanctuary cities as Sen. John Kennedy questioned Cato Institute scholar David Bier about his recent Bluesky posts.
- Kennedy read Bier’s posts that warned Republicans could “troll” the public into accepting “ethnic cleansing” and that urged service members to refuse unethical orders even if legal.
- Bier defended describing the administration’s actions as a “population purge” and cited what he said was a DHS post referencing “100 million deportations,” a claim reported as his testimony and not independently verified in the coverage.
- He argued immigrants reduce federal deficits and praised judges who have constrained enforcement actions as “braver” than ICE officers he criticized for “hiding behind masks.”
- The chair moved to end the back-and-forth as Kennedy said, “You trigger my gag reflex,” with Republicans like Sen. Bernie Moreno ridiculing Bier and Democrats such as Sen. Alex Padilla backing sanctuary policies.