Well, if anyone was wondering whether Democrats had hit rock bottom in their obsession with inventing scandals, Rep. Jimmy Gomez just pulled out a political jackhammer and kept digging. What was supposed to be a serious House Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats—you know, things like Iran, China, global terrorism—quickly devolved into an embarrassing circus act, courtesy of the California congressman who apparently thinks the best use of taxpayer time is speculating whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was sipping bourbon while overseeing counterterrorism strategy.
Let’s be clear: this entire melodrama isn’t about “national security,” and it definitely isn’t about accountability. It’s about scoring a viral moment. Because when you’re a backbencher like Gomez with no legislative accomplishments to speak of, all you have left is performative outrage and desperate attempts to smear anyone within a three-foot radius of the Trump administration.
So what’s the scandal this time? A Signal group chat that accidentally included Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg—yes, the same guy whose reporting history includes the thoroughly debunked “suckers and losers” hoax. Apparently, the left thinks that being in the same message thread as a journalist is tantamount to leaking the nuclear codes. Never mind that the messages contained no classified information, as multiple officials—including DNI Tulsi Gabbard—have confirmed. No sources. No methods. No locations. Just general situational updates that, if anything, reinforced that the Trump administration is staying ahead of the curve on national security.
But that didn’t stop Gomez from launching into full character assassination mode, smirking through his moment of congressional theater as he asked if Hegseth had been drinking when the messages were sent. Drinking. As if Pete Hegseth is running CENTCOM from the bottom of a whiskey tumbler.
Tulsi Gabbard, who clearly has more patience than most, calmly swatted down the insinuation like a mosquito buzzing in the summer heat. Former DNI John Ratcliffe, however, had enough and called the question what it was: offensive. And he’s right. This wasn’t oversight. This was a political drive-by shooting dressed up in congressional nameplates.
And just when you thought Gomez might rein it in, he doubled down by resurrecting a debunked conspiracy theory about Hegseth supposedly holding an alcoholic drink at a NATO press conference back in February. The truth? It was water. Not whiskey. Not bourbon. Water. You’d think maybe someone on Gomez’s staff could do a quick search before their boss publicly accuses a sitting defense secretary of being drunk on the job.
But hey, why let facts get in the way when you’re grandstanding for likes?
Even Snopes—yes, Snopes, the left’s go-to debunker—cleared Hegseth, noting the drink had a “clear appearance” and that “no credible data suggested it was anything other than water.” When even Snopes isn’t willing to carry your water (no pun intended), maybe it’s time to let the narrative die.
But that’s the thing with Democrats like Gomez. They don’t care about facts. They care about headlines. They care about viral clips. They care about creating the illusion of corruption so their low-information Twitter crowd can feel like something scandalous is happening—because God forbid they ever praise a successful strike against Houthi terrorists. Can’t have that. Can’t admit the Trump administration did something right. So instead, they pivot to their comfort zone: baseless personal attacks.
.@RepJimmyGomez outrageously implies @SecDef was drunk during the successful Houthi strikes, going so far as to repeat a delusional (and debunked) conspiracy theory that he “stood in front of a podium in Europe holding a drink” (it was WATER).
Shame on you, Jim. Disgusting. pic.twitter.com/miigymCauu
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 26, 2025
It’s no wonder that trust in Congress is in the basement. When a serious national security briefing gets hijacked by a guy speculating about whether the Secretary of Defense is throwing back cocktails between missile strikes, it’s clear who’s not taking the job seriously.
Pete Hegseth and the Trump administration are out there doing their jobs—keeping Americans safe, pushing back on enemies, and restoring order to a Pentagon that spent the last administration obsessed with preferred pronouns. Meanwhile, Jimmy Gomez is playing “Gotcha!” with a water glass.
You can’t reclaim your time when you’ve already forfeited your credibility.
