Ray Washburne, chairman of Sunoco and co-chair of the GOP midterm convention in Dallas, appeared on "Face the Nation" on September 6, 2026. According to Washburne, lawmakers are not required to pay $25,000 to attend the convention, but rather that is an RNC initiative. The convention is expected to draw around 20,000 attendees from all 50 states and territories, with a focus on networking for candidates. Former Texas AG Ken Paxton, running for Senate, has received significant attention from President Trump and wealthy donors such as Elon Musk.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
President Donald Trump was furious about leaked information about the US military's munitions stockpiles, and as a result, the Pentagon subjected approximately 50 members of the Joint Staff to polygraph tests in August. The tests were conducted after news reports detailed how the conflict with Iran had strained US supplies of critical munitions, including long-range missiles and Patriot air-defense interceptors.
The investigation was part of a broader effort by the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Justice Department to identify and prosecute people suspected of leaking sensitive government information to the press. No one failed the polygraph test questions intended to pinpoint the leaker, according to multiple sources, including CBS News.
This move has been seen as a show of force aimed at not just ferreting out anyone who may have shared information but also intimidating others who might do so in the future. The Joint Staff is responsible for coordinating operations, policy, and war plans with combatant commanders around the world, with between 1500 to 2000 officers and officials working there.
It's worth noting that polygraph tests are not uncommon in the US government, especially for high-level security clearance holders who could be subject to testing every five to seven years. However, the scale of this investigation is unusual, with multiple sources suggesting it was a response to Trump's personal frustration over the leaked information.
Written for “Pentagon Polygraph Crackdown” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 21 other(s) covering the same event.
The following is the transcript of the interview with Sunoco chairman Ray Washburne, Republican midterm election chair, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Sept. 6, 2026.
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that → follow → Sept.
We go now to Ray Washburn, co-chair of the GOP midterm convention that is happening later this week in Dallas.
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that → go → Dallas
So there's a lot of talk about what is the first ever Republican midterm convention.
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what → be → talk
I'm seeing reports here that lawmakers are being asked to pay $25,000 to attend.
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lawmakers → see → 25,000
Do lawmakers have to pay to attend and participate?
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lawmakers → have → ?
You know, the whole attendance and selling the packages is all an RNC thing.
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attendance → know → packages
I'm chairman of the host committee that's putting the convention on, so I'm not sure exactly in all the different packages they have.
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But what I do know is we have 20,000 people attending all 50 states, every territory, and people have started arriving this weekend.
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people → know → states
And there's a high degree of energy here in Dallas for the convention, so we're very excited.
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Well, the timing I know for some candidates it's kind of tough to leave their tight races in certain districts.
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Do you know how many lawmakers are attending and what the money being raised will do for those who attend?
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Well, obviously, with it's going to be a great networking thing for the candidates to come down.
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candidates → go → ?
So their events stacked every single day.
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So it's very advantageous for them to come, even if it's just for a day, just to meet and network in.
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So we have a high degree of candidates coming, we pretty much have every race represented here, except for a couple that couldn't break away.
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Well, President Trump said this past week that he thinks in Dallas the speaker to focus on is former Texas AG Ken Paxton, who's running for Senate, and he kind of, he was half joking here.
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He said people don't like the way he dresses, looks, or does interviews.
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Is that what you're asking?
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You know, Ken Paxton, just because this is his home state, obviously he's a very high-profile person.
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Yesterday, Trump announced that they are going to contribute to his campaign $10 million, with more to come.
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they → announce → more
Elon Musk has announced that he is putting in a substantial amount of money.
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he → announce → money
So there's a lot of momentum for the Paxton campaign starting this week, which we knew was going to happen, starting with the convention through because he hasn't had a chance to put ads up this summer, and actually the first ad drop this morning.
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I want to ask you about—sorry, if you can hear me, I want to ask you about your other role at the top of Sunoco.
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That means you're selling a gasoline station.
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You got to look inside what's happening with consumers right now.
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what → get → consumers
Are they changing their behavior based on the fact that gas prices are, what, more than 20% higher than last Labor Day?
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prices → change → Day
Well, you know it's interesting, and the Energy Secretary spoke to it earlier.
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Right now, we've passed peak demand for the summer, and so going into the fall, the refineries are turning more out.
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refineries → pass → more
The refineries are running at 98% right now, and so it's an energy versus the 1970s and the malaise of the Carter administration when we had lines around the block.
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You have no issue at all finding any gas station to drive into and fill your car up.
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There's been no demand destruction really at all that we've seen this year, people are filling their cars up and they're still driving.
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they → be → cars
But you know, as inflation adjusted to what it was in the 1970s, when it was typically around 5% of someone's paycheck, today it's less than 2%.
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it → know → paycheck
So it is more expensive because you see the signs in front of everyone, but companies like Costco, Buc-ees, the big retailers-they've really done a great job on keeping a lid on prices to where they could be.
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they → see → prices
Do you think we've actually seen the worst of the energy shock?
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we → think → shock
I mean, what's concerning you now?
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Well, we have supply.
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As Energy Secretary said earlier in your broadcast, we passed peak demand.
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Supply is increasing, and demand, as long as it stays steady where it is, I mean, it's it—It hasn't gone—Demand hasn't, for gasoline, has not gone up, but it hasn't gone down either.
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it → increase → gasoline
So our projections through the fall are pretty much the same flat demand, and you know, as a distributor of gasoline, we'll sell about 17 billion gallons this year.
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We feel very positive through the rest of the year for our business, but we're selling to the stations, and the margins that they do-that's up to the stations to determine those.
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…and 15 more, not listed.
