A growing number of Republicans on Capitol Hill are clearly growing weary of the “gotcha” questions from the left-wing establishment media cabal and they don’t mind showing their frustration.
One of them is rising GOP star Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas, who sharply dismissed an Al Jazeera English reporter on Tuesday after she approached him with gotcha questions about deaths involving detainees in federal ICE custody.
Natasha Del Toro, a correspondent for Al Jazeera’s documentary series “Fault Lines,” approached Gill and began asking about people who have died while being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Video of the encounter circulated online Tuesday. Before answering, Gill repeatedly asked Del Toro to identify herself and the news organization she represented.
Del Toro initially identified herself as being with “Fault Lines,” prompting Gill to ask which outlet produced the program. At one point, Del Toro accused the congressman of “buying time” rather than responding to her question. After roughly 30 seconds of back-and-forth, Del Toro told Gill that “Fault Lines” airs on Al Jazeera English.
Gill immediately ended the exchange. “Al Jazeera? No, I don’t have any desire to talk to Al Jazeera,” Gill said before telling Del Toro and her crew to “get lost.” Gill represents Texas’ 26th Congressional District and serves on the House Judiciary, Budget and Oversight committees. He was first elected to Congress in 2024.
WATCH:
Future Oversight Committee Chairman Brandon Gill absolutely cooks an Al Jazeera reporter:
"You guys can get lost." pic.twitter.com/MlQMN7HKPN
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 15, 2026
“Fault Lines” is an Al Jazeera English documentary program that focuses heavily on U.S. domestic and foreign-policy issues. Del Toro has worked on previous episodes examining immigration enforcement in the United States.
The exchange comes amid continuing scrutiny of deaths in immigration detention. Federal records document deaths among detainees held in ICE custody, while the Trump administration has disputed claims that the figures demonstrate a disproportionate increase in mortality, saying detention facilities provide appropriate medical care. A San Francisco Chronicle review of federal records reported that 33 people died in ICE custody in 2025, while additional deaths have been reported in 2026.
Gill’s confrontation with Del Toro quickly attracted attention on social media, with supporters praising his refusal to participate in the interview and critics questioning his decision not to address the underlying issue raised by the reporter. Also, the same media types trying to ‘gotcha’ Republicans over current ICE operations were silent for years after the Biden administration literally lost track of some 300,000 migrant children brought illegally into the U.S. over his four-year term.
