Ex-Illinois candidate sides with Vance after Duckworth–Rubio clash
[February 03, 2026]
By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, is facing
fresh criticism after Vice President J.D. Vance likened her heated
exchange with Secretary of State Marco Rubio over Venezuela policy to
“watching Forrest Gump argue with Isaac Newton,” a comparison that has
now been echoed by a former Illinois congressional candidate and
Nicaragua immigrant who says Duckworth is undermining U.S. national
security.
Ray Estrada, a Nicaragua immigrant and former Republican congressional
candidate in Illinois, said Duckworth’s aggressive questioning of Rubio
during a Senate hearing ignored what he views as the broader
geopolitical stakes of U.S. action in Venezuela and Latin America.
“It’s pretty amazing and shocking that members of the Senate are
attacking what happened instead of celebrating it,” Estrada said. “She
keeps focusing on the Alien Enemies Act and insisting there has to be a
formal war for it to apply. That’s simply not true. You don’t need a
declared war to invoke it, a predatory incursion into the United States
qualifies, and that’s exactly what was happening. This was a
well-planned, organized invasion, with people coming in by the thousands
and posing a direct threat to national security and the American
people.”
In a recent Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Duckworth
challenged Rubio over the Trump administration’s use of the Alien
Enemies Act, arguing it is a wartime power historically reserved for
declared wars and warning it could be misused against innocent people.
Rubio rejected that claim, saying transnational criminal and narco-trafficking
groups pose an active national security threat to the United States.
“These groups have waged war on the United States,” Rubio said. “Anyone
who believes that gangs that flood our country with fentanyl or cocaine
are not threats to the United States is not living in reality.”
In a news release following the hearing, Duckworth accused the Trump
administration of recklessly invoking wartime authorities and risking
another “forever war” in Venezuela, while sharply criticizing
Republicans for abandoning a bipartisan War Powers Resolution she
cosponsored that would have barred U.S. military action there without
explicit congressional authorization.
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Vice President JD Vance delivers remarks at a Sports Council
announcement in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, July 31,
2025. Photo: Julian Casciano / Official White House Photo via Flickr
/ United States Government Work
Estrada, however, framed the Venezuela operation as part of a much
larger strategy aimed at weakening hostile foreign powers operating
in the Western Hemisphere.
“This isn’t just about Venezuela or oil,” he said. “What Trump did
has a ripple effect that weakens China’s foothold in our hemisphere
and directly impacts countries like Cuba.”
According to Estrada, Venezuela’s collapse under Maduro enabled
China and Iran to expand their influence through energy deals,
intelligence infrastructure, and alliances with regional regimes. He
argued that removing Maduro disrupts those networks.
“China controls over 60% of copper mining in the hemisphere and is
building deep-water ports they control,” Estrada said. “There’s even
a Chinese satellite positioned over Venezuela monitoring the
Caribbean. People don’t realize how serious this is.”
Vance’s “Forrest Gump” remark, made in response to Duckworth’s tense
exchange with Rubio over Venezuela policy, sparked backlash from
Democrats and disability advocates, but Estrada said the uproar
distracts from what he views as the far more consequential national
security issues at stake.
“People actually said it was an insult to Forrest Gump,” Estrada
said. “Because Forrest Gump had a good heart. The concern here is
that Duckworth appears to be acting against U.S. national security
interests. Why attack a policy that took out a narco-terrorist,
disrupted terrorist financing, and did it with zero U.S.
casualties?”
Duckworth responded to Vance, saying, “Petty insults at the expense
of people with disabilities won't change the fact that you're
risking troops' lives to boost Chevron's stock price.”
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