Who?
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS)
LISTEN: Laslo & Marshall
Ask a Pol asks:
What do you make of this Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “scandal” — some say extrajudicial killings? Do you think this is good policy?
Key Marshall:
“This is a war on drugs… as far as I’m concerned, it’s war. War is ugly. Americans don’t like to see it,” Sen. Roger Marshall exclusively tells Ask a Pol.
Do you think the war on drugs has been successful?
“Obviously, it’s not been successful,” Marshall says. “I think that the open borders under Joe Biden for four years exacerbated the situation and just opened all the gates…”
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Caught our ear:
“We lose 200 Americans every day to poison. I think the emphasis is that it’s poisoning,” Marshall tells us. “They’re not necessarily overdosing. There’s just such inconsistency in the drugs that kills them.”
Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), slightly edited for clarity.
TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Roger Marshall (12-3-2025)
SCENE: Ask a Pol founder Matt Laslo greets Sen. Roger Marshall in the basement of the US Capitol as the Senator rushes to vote on the Senate floor…*
*apologies, the first part of our question was cut off.
Matt Laslo: “What do you make of this Hegseth stuff…”some say extrajudicial killings? Do you think this is a good policy?”
Sen. Roger Marshall: “I think first of all, we need to get all the facts straight before we prosecute the person. I think that, you know, President Eisenhower once said that, ‘I hate war as only a soldier who lived it can with all its brutality and futility.’ So as far as I’m concerned, this is a war on drugs, that these drug lords are killing 200 Americans every day through drug poisoning…”
What should we ask your lawmakers next?
Marshall: “…and I think that this is a great deterrent with — the policy is a great deterrent, and, you know, stopping that ship probably saved hundreds, if not, you know, more American lives. We lose more Americans every year from drug poisoning than we did during Vietnam. So listen, as far as I’m concerned, it’s war. War is ugly. Americans don’t like to see it.”
ML: “Yeah?”
Marshall: “But this is a war.”
ML: “Do you think the war on drugs has been successful?”
Marshall: “Obviously, it’s not been successful, and I think that the open borders under Joe Biden for four years exacerbated the situation and just opened all the gates for all this fentanyl to come flooding in. And now that we’ve kind of shut back some of the fentanyl going across the Mexico border, now they’re having to resort to ships again and then as the fentanyl supply goes down, then cocaine becomes the substitute…”
ML: “Yeah?”
Marshall: “…even though it’s more expensive and it doesn’t give you quite the same high. So it’s been — it’s a constant battle. It’s horrible. We, like I said, we lose 200 Americans every day to poison. I think the emphasis is that it’s poisoning.”
ML: “Yeah.”
Marshall: “That these — you know, they’re not necessarily overdosing. There’s just such inconsistency in the drugs that kills them.”
ML: “Yeah?”
Other reporter: “Can I ask you about 2026…”*
*Journalism 101: Don’t ask to ask a question — just ask your question. - Prof. Laslo
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