Politics in 2025 has basically lost its "shame filter," but even by today's standards, hearing a sitting United States Congressman quote a high-ranking Nazi official during an official hearing is enough to make anyone do a double-take. That’s exactly what happened in the spring of 2025. Representative Keith Self, a Republican from Texas, decided to pull a line from Joseph Goebbels—Adolf Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda—during a heated session on Capitol Hill.
If you’re looking for the short version, here it is: Self wasn’t praising the Nazi regime. He was trying to use Goebbels' own words as a weapon to accuse the Biden administration of acting like one. Specifically, he was targeting what Republicans call the "Censorship-Industrial Complex."
It was a bold, and many would say inflammatory, move.
The context matters. The hearing, held by a House Judiciary subcommittee, was supposed to be about the "Need for First Amendment Protection." The star witness was Nina Jankowicz. You might remember her as the former head of the short-lived Disinformation Governance Board. Republicans have long viewed her—and the board—as a literal "Ministry of Truth."
The Moment the Quote Dropped
During his time to question Jankowicz, Self didn't hold back. He asked her if the government should have a role in "enforcing" free speech. Jankowicz tried to clarify that her work focused on online threats and national security, not arresting people for their opinions.
Then came the kicker.
Self looked at her and said, "I’m going to leave you—and I’ll yield back a little bit of my time—a direct quote from Joseph Goebbels: 'It is the absolute right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion,' and I think that may be what we're discussing here."
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Silence? Not exactly.
The reaction was instant. Representative Julie Johnson, a Democrat from North Texas, went off. She basically told the room that there is no excuse for quoting a Nazi on the House floor. To her, it wasn't a clever rhetorical device; it was a choice that crossed a red line. She later posted on X (formerly Twitter) that if you’re quoting Nazis in Congress, you've already lost the argument.
Honestly, the whole thing felt like a microcosm of how broken the dialogue has become.
It Wasn't His First Time Using a Goebbels Quote
Here is the thing most people don't know: Keith Self has a bit of a history with this particular "tactic."
Back in 2010, when Self was a Collin County Judge running in a GOP primary, he used a Goebbels quote on his campaign website. That time, it was the famous "Big Lie" quote: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."
He was using it to attack his opponent, John Muns. Even then, people were weirded out. Republicans and Democrats alike told him it was a bad look. Self’s response? He blamed the "PC police." He argued that he wasn't calling his opponent a Nazi; he was just saying his opponent was using Nazi methods.
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The fact that he went back to the Goebbels well fifteen years later tells you everything you need to know about his communication style. He likes the shock value. He wants to draw the most extreme comparison possible to make his point.
The Problem With the "Big Lie" Quote Itself
There is a bit of historical irony here that most people miss.
While Joseph Goebbels is synonymous with the "Big Lie" theory, historians like Randall Bytwerk point out that Goebbels actually attributed the technique to the British and the Jews. In his 1941 article "Churchill's Lie Factory," Goebbels was accusing his enemies of lying, not bragging about his own lies.
He wrote: "The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it."
So, when Keith Self quotes Joseph Goebbels to warn about government propaganda, he is technically quoting a man who was using the quote to accuse others of propaganda. It’s a hall of mirrors.
Why This Matters for Free Speech Debates
The "Censorship-Industrial Complex" is a phrase you’ll hear a lot if you follow Representative Self or Jim Jordan. It refers to the idea that the federal government, tech companies, and academic researchers are working together to silence conservative voices under the guise of fighting "disinformation."
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By quoting Goebbels, Self was trying to frame the Biden administration's actions as a state-mandated control of thought.
- The Argument for the Quote: Supporters say it’s a valid warning. If a Nazi said the state has a right to "supervise the formation of public opinion," and a modern government is doing something similar, the comparison is fair game.
- The Argument Against the Quote: Critics argue that invoking the architects of the Holocaust to score points in a policy debate is "dangerous, offensive, and alarming," as Rep. Julie Johnson put it. It cheapens the history of the Third Reich and makes actual compromise impossible.
What Really Happened Next?
Self didn't back down. After the 2025 hearing, he took to social media to defend himself. He called the backlash "misleading" and doubled down. He claimed he was simply highlighting the "philosophy" of his opponents.
Essentially, he was saying: "I'm not the one quoting a Nazi; I'm pointing out that you are acting like one."
It’s a classic political "No, you" defense.
Actionable Takeaways for Following Political News
When stories like this break, it’s easy to get lost in the outrage. To actually understand what's happening, try these steps:
- Check the full transcript. Clips on social media often cut out the "why." Look at the 30 seconds before and after the quote. In this case, Self was specifically responding to Jankowicz’s testimony about government oversight of "harmful" speech.
- Verify the attribution. As we saw with the "Big Lie," these quotes are often misused or attributed to the wrong person. Goebbels was a liar, but he was also a specific historical figure with a specific agenda.
- Identify the rhetorical goal. Is the politician trying to pass a law, or are they trying to get a clip for a late-night news cycle? Using a Nazi quote is almost always about the latter. It’s designed to go viral.
- Look for patterns. The fact that Self did this in 2010 and 2025 shows it’s a deliberate part of his political brand, not a slip of the tongue.
Politics is a game of language. Whether you think Keith Self was making a profound point about state power or just being a provocateur, the incident shows how much our leaders are willing to "break the glass" on historical taboos to get their message across.
To stay updated on congressional hearings and the ongoing debate over the Disinformation Governance Board, you can follow the official House Judiciary Committee archives or set alerts for "Censorship-Industrial Complex" hearings. Understanding the primary sources will always give you a clearer picture than the social media firestorms that follow.