Facing a national debt that has exploded past $40 trillion, Missouri Rep. Eric Burlison isn’t holding back on his own colleagues — accusing Washington lawmakers on both sides of the aisle of being «drunk on spending» while working-class families pay the price.

Burlison recently sat down for an exclusive interview with Digital to discuss fiscal prudence, healthcare, inflation, and how Republicans can lift their fortunes ahead of midterm elections just six weeks away.

CONGRESSMAN ERIC BURLISON: IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, ‘THE INMATES ARE RUNNING THE PRISON’ 

«Most of my colleagues like to spend money…they like to spend other people’s money. They’re drunk on spending other people’s money, even Republicans, unfortunately, and there’s few people up here like myself who were willing to make significant spending reductions. 

«And so we had to fight tooth and nail to get any spending reductions in the Big, Beautiful Bill. And we were demonized by the left, obviously, but we had to fight members even on our own side of the aisle to make those spending reductions.

«But, look, at some point, the party is going to be over, and we are all gonna wake up in a drunken stupor with a hangover, and it’s going to be painful, and we’re going to have to figure out how to get our way out of that. 

«All of these sins of overspending are haunting us. And now we’re seeing…inflation that we can’t control. We’re seeing the interest rates go through the roof. At some point, you can’t keep borrowing money…Sadly, my colleagues that weren’t willing to cut spending are going to be forced to cut spending.»

Despite seeking to portray themselves as the party of affordability, the GOP seems to have a major messaging problem as it heads into the tumultuous midterm elections.

Burlison points to healthcare as the main problem:

«I mean, again, it’s really sad. This office has been broadcasting to the leadership every chance that we can that the American people are feeling the crunch, they’re feeling the affordability crunch. We put together a solution that we call the Great American healthcare plan. We also have another bill that addresses the housing affordability issue. 

«This office has been doing everything we can to try to fix the affordability issue and have been putting these ideas and solutions in the faces of leadership for at least two years. It’s just unfortunate that we can’t get people to do the difficult things. And sadly that’s because Washington DC doesn’t like to do difficult things and fixing healthcare is the number one thing that we should be looking to do. 

WE’RE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS. THE US MUST CHOOSE: EITHER $20 TRILLION IN DEBT OR MEDICAID REFORM

«Healthcare cost is eating away everyone’s discretionary dollars…In the year 2000, the average American family was paying $6,000 a year for insurance premiums for a family of four. Today, that’s $27,000 a year. If that had followed normal inflation, that would only be $11,000 per year. 

«So if you ask the average family of four, would you like to be paying health insurance premiums at $11,000 a year, they would say, heck, yeah, that sounds like a great deal. That is not what they’re paying today. They’re paying $27,000. So if you think about that, just that alone, that is crowding out everything else that the average American family has to pay. You have to come up with another $16,000 that you didn’t have to come up with before, in order to pay for a healthcare system that has exceeded inflation by three-fold. 

«So three times normal inflation for the healthcare premiums, health insurance premiums. It’s not sustainable, and it’s crowded out everything else, and it is the reason why young people cannot afford to buy a home. It’s the reason why people have a hard time going out to eat. It’s a reason why people aren’t going on vacation as much. People are having to make very difficult choices, and it’s not the same choices that people had to make 20 years ago.»

As Elon Musk and DOGE-fervor swept across the nation’s capital at the beginning of 2025, Burlison’s initial enthusiasm soon turned to disappointment as he saw colleagues avoid much-needed spending cuts:

«DOGE was the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen in politics. And I was super excited about it. But I also was skeptical. I watched Elon come give speeches to my colleagues. And what was ironic is that some of the most swampy members of Congress were rushing to the microphones to embrace Elon to talk to him to tell him where he should go to look for spending reductions. 

«And yet those very people were the ones that were voting against every spending reduction that you would ever bring to the floor. We’ve had hundreds and hundreds of opportunities to cut spending… We submitted hundreds of amendments to the appropriations committees to cut spending and yet each and every time, anytime there’s ever a vote to cut spending, they fail. 

«So, look. All we have to do as Republicans is look in the mirror and say where’s the problem? It’s me, it’s us…I’m one of these almost going extinct members of the Republican Party that still believes in fiscal prudence, still believes and in cutting spendings this small government free market conservative. But unfortunately, that’s not how all of my colleagues feel.»

Burlison argues that the GOP has a fundamental messaging problem and has urged his colleagues to zero in on their economic pitch to the American public, with a particular focus on the healthcare crisis:

«So, in my opinion, it’s not enough to run against a platform. If you have to provide a vision to the American people, and if you ask the American voter today, what will the Republican Party do if they’re reelected…I don’t think that they would know. And so to me, the vision that I would provide is to say, ‘we’re going to fix healthcare. We’re going to make healthcare affordable. We’re gonna to make it a free market. The prices are going to be transparent, and you’re going to know exactly what you’re buying’.»

Finally, Burlison has a quick prescription for bringing down pain at the pump tied to the engagement in Iran:

«Well, conservatives, we love cutting taxes and I think that we should be cutting the fuel taxes during this period of time. I would love to eliminate the taxes altogether, but at least it would make sense that during this conflict that we should cut taxes on both gas and diesel until this war is resolved.

«I think that that would have a pretty good impact on people’s pocketbooks. I mean you’re talking for diesel that would be 40 cents a gallon. That’s, that’s pretty significant.»

politics, house of representatives politics, house of representatives, missouri, midterm elections

Media accounts reported that protesters «quickly organized» a spontaneous anti-ICE protest at an Austin, Texas, intersection following the shooting of a Venezuelan man by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

But a Digital investigation shows that the protests are being promoted and organized by a coordinated network of far-left socialist and communist groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which works closely with nonprofits funded by Neville Roy Singham, a communist American-born tech tycoon living in Shanghai.

Congressional lawmakers are investigating the Singham network for allegedly fomenting the image of «chaos» in the U.S., including anti-ICE protests from Minneapolis to the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J. Sure enough, Sunday evening, BreakThrough News, a pro-communist media platform operated by BreakThrough BT Media, a nonprofit funded by Singham, published a «BREAKING NEWS» report from Texas with the headline: «Austin erupts in protest…»

AUSTIN ICE SHOOTING SPARKS FIGHT OVER VENEZUELAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT’S DEPORTATION

The shooting occurred Sunday afternoon at about 12:56 p.m. Central Time near Anderson Square and Research Boulevard in Austin. Authorities said an ICE officer shot Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, during a traffic stop. Perez was hospitalized in serious but stable condition and later placed in federal custody. Local officials said Austin police weren’t involved in the shooting, which is being investigated by federal authorities with assistance from the FBI.

About four hours after the shooting, local socialist and communist activists were already at the scene, waving flags of Mexico, pushing the incident through their national and Texas social-media networks and broadcasting footage of the growing crowd and confrontations with Austin police.

The headlines and descriptions of the demonstration have focused on the protest’s anti-ICE message without identifying the political or ideological infrastructure that helped organize and promote the event. Local media headlines included KVUE reporting that «North Austin ICE shooting draws large protest as tensions escalate,» describing a spontaneous outburst: «What began with a handful of people gathered across the street from the scene grew into a much larger crowd over the course of several hours.»

But the details of the Austin protest are important because they reveal that the demonstrations represent more than an unplanned gathering of residents responding to a breaking-news event, much like the protests in Minnesota and New Jersey and Minnesota.

SECRET SIGNAL CHATS REVEAL HOW ANTI-ICE AGITATORS COORDINATED NEWARK RIOTS

The shooting provided the immediate trigger, but the mobilization was amplified by organizations with explicit revolutionary socialist and communist ideologies, established propaganda outlets and long-standing ties to international movements aligned with the communist governments of Cuba and Venezuela. They each have pre-existing activist networks and online audiences that organized and promoted the protests.

The event also illustrates how rapidly established activist networks can convert a law-enforcement incident into a larger political action. Within hours, the groups distributed nearly identical claims, promoted the same location and used dramatic language describing the shooting as «ICE terror,» «police violence» and part of a pattern of killings.

At about 4:19 p.m. local time, the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s national account, @PSLNational, posted an explosive message on X, announcing the shooting and shouting in capital letters, «BREAKING. MAN SHOT BY ICE AGENTS IN AUSTIN. It called on residents to protest ICE, declaring, «ICE OUT OF AUSTIN NOW!»

Right about then, the group’s Austin chapter shared the dramatic «BREAKING» graphic on Instagram, collaborating with its national headquarters and four Texas chapters in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth and Waco. By early Monday evening, about 24 hours later, the post had 5,402 likes, 2,016 reposts and 2,391 shares/sends.

DEPROGRAMMED: FORMER DSA INSIDER REVEALS ‘FRIGHTENING’ SOCIALIST AGENDA DROVE HIM FROM ‘EXTREME’ IDEOLOGY

Soon after on Sunday, at about 4:30 p.m. local time, the Austin chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America posted a graphic labeled «Emergency Demonstration/Vigil» calling on supporters to gather at 8121 Research Boulevard from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday for a «spontaneous» protest.

«Join us at 8121 Research Blvd from 5-8 p.m. for a spontaneous protest and vigil against yet another instance of ICE and police violence,» the post said.

The group later reposted the notice with an updated location and said the demonstration would continue until 7 p.m.

Right about then, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, an openly Marxist-Leninist group that has sent delegations to support communist regimes in Cuba and Venezuela, and its Austin chapter published its own hyperbolic material about the shooting. One graphic said, «ICE SHOOTS AN UNARMED CIVILIAN,» while another described the incident as part of a broader pattern of «ICE violence and killings.» Within 24 hours, the post garnered 620 likes, 214 reposts and 156 shares/sends.

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization openly says it is working to build «a new, revolutionary, communist party.» In its own program, the group says it wants to replace capitalism through a socialist revolution. The group’s program describes the organization as part of the communist movement. In July, the group said it «salutes the Communist Party of China» on the 105th anniversary of its founding.

For years, it’s also supported the Communist Party of Cuba, declaring, «Stand with socialist Cuba,» as it praised the Cuban Revolution and called for an end to U.S. sanctions against Cuba.

Videos posted by the group showed demonstrators chanting, holding signs, blocking the roadway near the shooting scene and lighting fireworks.

HASAN PIKER DEFENDS PRO-COMMUNIST, ANTI-ICE SINGHAM NETWORK ACTIVISTS AS ‘WONDERFUL PEOPLE’

The Party for Socialism and Liberation official manifesto describes itself as a «revolutionary socialist» movement that «will open the way to communism and the end of class society.» The program describes the police and state institutions as tools of capitalist rule and calls for a workers’ government to replace the current system.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation functions as a key boots-on-the-ground mobilizer within the broader activist ecosystem, working alongside Singham-funded organizations such as the People’s Forum, BreakThrough News, CodePink and the ANSWER Coalition on protests, media campaigns and international solidarity efforts.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation also overlaps with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization through shared «anti-imperialist» pro-communist coalitions, while the Democratic Socialists of America often provides a broader layer of street-level organizing and political amplification.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation has participated in international «solidarity» efforts involving Cuba and Venezuela, along with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, according to a communist publication, Fight Back! News. A self-described communist co-founder of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Brian Becker, has said the delegation traveled «as comrades in solidarity.»

The facts surrounding the shooting remain under investigation. Austin officials have called for transparency and an independent review, while federal authorities have said the ICE agent’s use of force is being investigated. But the protest organizers’ social media posts leave little ambiguity about the political and ideological objective of the protest.

LAWMAKERS THROW OUT ‘TROJAN HORSE’ ACTIVISTS THEY SAY ARE ENGAGED IN AMERICAN SUBVERSION

At 5:44 p.m., @PSLNational posted a video from the scene, announcing, «LIVE: A crowd has gathered…», and moving from initial messaging to real-time amplification of the street protest. Its national and Austin accounts shared the video on Instagram synchronized with the band Rage Against the Machine’s song, «We’ve Got to Take the Power Back.» It added the message, «Austinites flooding the streets where man shot by ICE: ‘ICE out of our neighborhoods,’» giving the illusion of a spontaneous «flooding» of «the streets.»

That evening, at 8:27 p.m., @PSLNational published an expanded statement on X, headlined «Justice for Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez,» demanding the detainee’s release and the agent’s arrest and telling supporters to «follow the example of Minneapolis earlier this year until ICE terror is defeated!»

An identical «Justice for Wilber…» collaborative post on Instagram spread through the Party for Socialism and Liberation’sTexas and national accounts. By early Monday evening, it had 10,600 likes, 3,616 reposts and 2,343 shares/sends.

By about 5 p.m. on Monday, a new call to action moved activists to Pearsal Detention Center, where local groups claimed ICE agents allegedly held the detainee in custody: «WE NEED YOU BOOTS ON THE GROUND…!!!»

fox news investigates, politics, immigration

Dos denuncias en pocos días apuntan a un mismo patrón en Cuba: opositores fueron obligados a desnudarse y luego fotografiados o grabados durante operativos atribuidos a agentes de la Seguridad del Estado. Las víctimas también denunciaron amenazas, golpes, traslados forzosos a zonas aisladas y el robo de teléfonos celulares.

El caso más reciente involucra a Mario Víctor Liquí Rodríguez y a su esposa, Margarita Barceló Prohías, ambos vinculados al Movimiento Opositores por una Nueva República (MONR) y al Movimiento Democracia. Según una denuncia pública difundida por el activista José Díaz Silva, la pareja fue interceptada la noche del martes 8 de septiembre por hombres que circulaban en un automóvil negro.

Los dos fueron obligados a subir al vehículo, donde los registraron y les quitaron el celular de Liquí Rodríguez. Luego los trasladaron contra su voluntad a una zona apartada de Casablanca, en el este de La Habana, de acuerdo con el relato recogido por Diario de las Américas.

En ese lugar, los hombres habrían obligado a Liquí Rodríguez y Barceló Prohías a quitarse toda la ropa. La denuncia sostiene que ambos fueron fotografiados o grabados desnudos y que recibieron advertencias para que dejaran sus actividades opositoras.

“Los fotografiaron y/o grabaron desnudos y los amenazaron para que abandonaran sus actividades opositoras”, indicó Díaz Silva en una publicación compartida en redes sociales.

Tras el procedimiento, la pareja fue abandonada de noche en el lugar, mientras los responsables se retiraron con el teléfono del activista. El MONR reclamó conocer la identidad de quienes participaron del operativo, el destino de las imágenes y el uso que podría darse a la información privada almacenada en el dispositivo.

Liquí Rodríguez, de 32 años, ya había denunciado detenciones y amenazas por su militancia. En octubre de 2025, el Instituto Cubano de Libertad de Expresión y Prensa (ICLEP) informó que fue detenido de forma violenta en su vivienda de Marianao, después de colocar carteles contra el régimen. También cumplió tres años de prisión tras una condena vinculada con delitos relacionados con la Seguridad del Estado.

Otro expreso político relató un operativo con desnudez forzada y disparos sin balas

La organización Justicia 11J señaló que el hecho contra Liquí Rodríguez y Barceló Prohías no sería aislado. Días antes, el opositor José Díaz Silva había denunciado que el expreso político Mario Alberto Hernández Leyva sufrió un procedimiento similar, en el que habría sido obligado a desnudarse y fotografiado.

A esos señalamientos se sumó el testimonio de Alcides Díaz Rodríguez, un preso político de las protestas del 11 de julio de 2021 que afirmó haber cumplido una sanción de cinco años y ocho meses. En un video compartido por Martí Noticias, sostuvo que agentes lo citaron en una unidad policial de La Habana y le exigieron firmar un documento en el que se comprometía a no realizar denuncias.

Díaz Rodríguez aseguró que, tras negarse, fue esposado y llevado a un monte junto con la activista Roselía González Agüero. Según su versión, ambos fueron golpeados, obligados a quitarse la ropa y colocados sobre un madero mientras los agentes les apuntaban con armas y efectuaban disparos sin municiones.

“Me obligaron a quitarme la ropa”, relató. “Nos apuntaban con la pistola, tiraban los tiros sin balas. Eso es una tortura”, agregó el opositor, quien afirmó que después fue trasladado entre varias dependencias policiales antes de ser liberado en una zona de La Habana cuya ubicación no pudo identificar.

Organizaciones opositoras reclaman una investigación sobre las imágenes obtenidas

Justicia 11J calificó las denuncias como hechos de “extrema gravedad” y advirtió que la desnudez forzada, la captación de imágenes íntimas sin consentimiento y la humillación pueden constituir mecanismos de coerción contra personas identificadas con actividades políticas opositoras.

El MONR sostuvo que la utilización de la desnudez como instrumento de intimidación representa una vulneración de la dignidad de las víctimas. La organización exigió una investigación para determinar quiénes ejecutaron los operativos, quién ordenó los procedimientos y dónde se encuentran las fotografías o grabaciones.

La organización de asesoría legal Cubalex había informado que documentó 280 eventos represivos y 543 incidentes de hostigamiento contra al menos 187 víctimas durante agosto, en un contexto de denuncias sobre detenciones arbitrarias, vigilancia, amenazas y traslados de opositores a lugares alejados de sus viviendas.

dibujo periodístico,traslado nocturno,camino rural,automóvil