Photo : Ethan Miller ( Getty )

Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw has made a career out of his status as a combat veteran, leaning into the belief that those who have fought for our country in battle are worthier citizens than those who have not. Unfortunately, this all starts to break down when he’s confronted with people who have nearly the same qualifications as him but different politics.




On Thursday night, two combat veterans from Common Defense, a left-wing veterans organization that opposes the Trump administration’s agenda, confronted Crenshaw. The two men, identified by Newsweek as U.S. Army veterans Jason Hurd, 40, and Alan Pitts, 36, a recipient of a Purple heart, raised the good point that the agenda Crenshaw enthusiastically supports often directly contradicts the values all three men supposedly swore to defend. Did Crenshaw engage with their criticism and defend the political positions he was ostensibly elected for? No. Instead he ran and hid in an elevator.


As Crenshaw notes, the interaction was clearly set up to be on video. But the fact that ambushes in the halls of Congress are one of the only ways to hold elected representatives accountable for the bullshit they spew on public platforms and in Congress every day speaks to a broader flaw in how our system of government works.

The Common Defense vets’ question is a strong one: how does Crenshaw square the oaths he took to serve the country with the deeds he supports in office? It’s something he should be forced to answer on a daily basis, on video, online, and in person. From what we’ve seen so far, his only response is to run away.