Rep. Lauren Boebert Explains Missed NDAA Vote, Cites Botox and Staffer Pressure

When asked about an unprecedented injection of taxpayer dollars into the Pentagon, Rep. Lauren Boebert pivoted to a very different kind of injection: botox.

Speaking to TMZ on the Capitol steps Wednesday, the Colorado Republican claimed that “staffers” had tried to pressure her into supporting the $1 trillion National Defense Authorization Act, an annual defense bill, which narrowly passed the House in a 216–212 vote.

Boebert, who did not cast a vote, began recounting the episode before veering off track.

“I do have an issue that we talked about off record. I don’t want to be on camera this week, and I’ve been on camera more than any other week,” the 39-year-old MAGA firebrand griped to reporter Jacob Wasserman.

“I’m talking out of the side of my mouth like a damn politician cuz my botox hasn’t caught up on this side,” she said, gesturing towards her face. “Maybe in two days, this side will catch up to the other side.”

The congresswoman, who was first elected in 2020, later took issue with Wasserman’s characterization that she was “recovering” from botox. “‘Awaiting settlement’ may be more accurate,” she wrote on X.

Boebert acknowledged being a “fan of botox” during a 2024 Rumble livestream, according to Business Insider.

At the time, she said she needed to increase her injections, noting that a group of students once mistook her for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who, at 86, is retiring at the end of her current term.

During her interview with TMZ, Boebert explained what led to her missing the House vote on the NDAA, which would allocate a record $1.15 trillion to the Defense Department amid the ongoing and unpopular Iran war.

“I got a whole bunch of men trying to muscle me into voting for the NDAA,” the lawmaker said, describing the men as “staffers.”

Boebert said she opposed the bill in part because of Section 219, a provision that would expand U.S. military cooperation with Israel on intelligence and weapons development. The measure has drawn bipartisan criticism, including from outgoing GOP Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna. Massie introduced an amendment to strip the provision, but it was not included in the final package.

“It’s a big issue on the left and the right, and many of my constituents have reached out. They don’t want this provision in the bill,” Boebert said, adding that she believed the White House and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also opposed it.

She said she was waiting to speak with Hegseth as the vote was underway on Capitol Hill.

“So, I’m in the back waiting for a call from the secretary,” Boebert said. “I’m told that call is coming. I’m talking to someone underneath him. And I’m told the votes are gonna stay open. They close the vote. So now I’m forced to talk to TMZ.”

Boebert, who has previously embraced QAnon conspiracies and echoed Trump’s baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen, appears to have fallen out of favor with Trump in recent months after she backed the release of the Epstein files. Trump has threatened to endorse a primary challenger against her — but she has said she will not be intimidated.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Boebert was asked about the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.