Who?
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) — Member, Senate Intelligence Committee
Ask a Pol asks:
Someone told us that it was China that shut down Langley [Air Force Base] in 2023 for 17 days, causing our entire fleet of F-22 Raptors to be moved?
Key Rounds:
“I can’t talk about that right now,” Sen. Mike Rounds exclusively tells Ask a Pol UAP.
“Let’s put it this way, they don’t keep me or members of our [Intelligence] Committee awake at night, but I suspect we keep them awake at night.”
…
Do we have comparable tech? Like, are we flying over Chinese nuclear sites?
“Let’s put it this way, they don’t keep me or members of our [Intelligence] Committee awake at night,” Rounds says. “But I suspect we keep them awake at night.”
That’s the American way.
Find us on Venmo, PayPal, Cash App — or just buy us a beer!
Caught our ear:
Do you think we have that under control? Because it’s not really good if China is in US airspace.
“Let’s just say we learn every day, and our adversaries are very good at taking advantage of our freedoms here,” Rounds tells us. “But that’s the reason why we’ve got legislation* in right now to prohibit China from owning land anywhere near one of our sensitive areas or our bases. There’s a reason behind that.”
*we believe Rounds is referring to his bipartisan Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security (PASS) Act. It would “ban individuals and entities controlled by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from purchasing agricultural land and businesses located near U.S. military installations or sensitive sites,” according to the Senator’s official site.
TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Mike Rounds (9-24-2026)
SCENE: After the last Senate votes of the week, Ask a Pol founder Matt Laslo catches Sen. Mike Rounds before he hops in an aide’s car before flying home for the weekend.
Matt Laslo: “Hey, were you part of a recent briefing with AARO?”
ICYMI — stay tuned: we’re still looking for Gillibrand…
Mike Rounds: “Not that I know of.”
Laslo: “I think [Sen. Kirsten] Gillibrand had one a month or so ago.”
Rounds: “No.”
Laslo: “No?”
Rounds: “I wasn’t part of it.”
Laslo: “Have you looked at any of these — I guess the Pentagon’s released six tranches of these?”
Rounds: “Yeah, yeah. Most of them, nothing new in it that we haven’t seen before.”
Laslo: “Someone told me that it was China that shut down Langley [Air Force Base] in 2023 for 17 days, causing our entire fleet of [F-22] Raptors to be moved?”
Rounds: “I can’t talk about that right now.”
Laslo: “Yeah?”
Rounds: “I’m sorry.”
Laslo: “Do you think we have that under control? Because it’s not really good if China is in US airspace.”
Rounds: “Let’s just say we learn every day, and our adversaries are very good at taking advantage of our freedoms here.”
Laslo: “Yeah?”
Rounds: “But that’s the reason why we’ve got legislation in right now to prohibit China from owning land anywhere near one of our sensitive areas or our bases. There’s a reason behind that.”
Laslo: “Do we have comparable — do we have comparable tech? Like are we flying over Chinese nuclear sites?”
Rounds: “Let’s put it this way, they don’t keep me or members of our [Intelligence] Committee awake at night, but I suspect we keep them awake at night.”
Laslo: “That’s the American way.”
Rounds: “See you later.”
Laslo: “Have a good one, sir.”
What should we ask lawmakers this week? Let us know!
About Ask a Pol: We give listeners a front row seat to Congress. Transparency matters, so come inside the Capitol with us! Politicians disappoint. Ask a Pol keeps em honest.
Find us on social media:
Substack
X
Spotify
Apple
Don’t miss our other Ask a Pol sites!
Ask a Pol politics.
Ask a Pol crypto.
Ask a Pol drugs.
Ask a Pol ai.
Ask a Pol uaps.
Find Ask a Pol founder @MattLaslo on social media.
*PSA: Student? Unemployed? Underemployed?
Ping us for a free VIP subscription. No questions asked.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe
