‘Bipartisan’ Rep Susie Lee Wants to ‘Beat the Shit Out of’ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), the vulnerable swing-district Democrat who touts herself as Congress’s top bipartisan dealmaker, is showing fresh signs of unraveling. In June, she told a liberal audience she wanted to “beat the s*** out of” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—right after preaching the virtues of working across the aisle. 

Speaking at the Sun City Liberal Club in Las Vegas, Lee said: “I want to be bipartisan. I want to work across the aisle.” Moments later, while discussing Hegseth’s testimony, she added: “Now listen, it’s so easy. It’s so easy. Like you just wanna beat the s*** out of him… But you got to bite it.” 

Democrat Rep Susie Lee says she wants to “beat the shit out of” Pete Hegseth

Is this what toning down the rhetoric looks like? pic.twitter.com/skfOxao7oG

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 6, 2026

This latest outburst fits a pattern. On April 3rd at 1:03 AM,  Lee unleashed a profanity-laced meltdown on X targeting President Donald Trump. In a since-deleted post, she wrote: “So f***cking f***cked up. I’ll pray they f*** him to his face.” She followed up with: “Sorry, I say f*** a lot these days.” The tirade came in response to Trump’s plans to attend crucial Supreme Court oral arguments on birth right citizenship.

Trump-endorsed Republican nominee Marty O’Donnell accused her of “drunk tweeting”, responding to Lee’s public outburst: “In case you’re still wondering why Susie Lee votes against tax cuts, border security, and keeping men out of women’s sports, she answered the question by drunk tweeting her inner thoughts last night. What an embarrassment to Nevada.”

On July 3rd, in response to Lee’s latest outburst to a Democratic group of  predominately-white senior citizens, O’Donnell posted video of Lee’s comments, stating:  “Susie Lee tells us every day that she’s a moderate, bipartisan member of Congress. Here she is telling a group of liberals that she wants to ‘beat the sh*t out of Pete Hegseth.’ Susie is radical, unhinged, and unfit to continue representing Southern Nevada.” 

He followed up on July 6, calling her an “unhinged lunatic” and declaring, “we’re going to beat her in November.” 

Lee also used her campaign stop to burnish her credentials by claiming she personally spurred a major Defense Department investment in MP Materials, the Las Vegas-headquartered company operating the Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California. She has repeatedly taken credit for the multibillion-dollar deal, suggesting her committee questioning of Hegseth drove the outcome. 

Yet, as California Globe has documented, Lee has a habit of claiming victories on projects she voted against. She touted provisions in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and celebrated MP Materials funding while having opposed the underlying legislation that enabled key loans and appropriations. 

Republicans hammered the disconnect.

“Rep. Lee is shamelessly taking credit for funding she voted against,” noted Congressional Leadership Fund spokeswoman Lydia Hall in prior Globe reporting. 

RNC spokesperson Nick Poché said: “Either Susie Lee believes her words contain the persuasive power of the word of God, or she’s making stuff up and being completely unhinged to boot.” 

In a closely watched Nevada district with ties to California’s critical minerals sector, Lee’s pattern of inflammatory rhetoric and credit-claiming may not fly with the heavy independent base in Congressional District 3, which includes Summerlin, parts of Las Vegas, Henderson, and Enterprise. As midterms approach, voters in NV-03 and beyond may notice and consider the growing gap between her bipartisan sales pitch and her actual record.