The fireworks on Capitol Hill were vibrant today as Deputy Director of the FBI Paul Abbate paid a visit to the US Senate. Republicans grilled him on the bureau’s violation of trust with the American people after recent reporting showed that the 702 surveillance powers the FBI now wants to renew were illegally abused more than 278,000 times.

But while Sen. Mike Lee took Abbate apart methodically, the mood turned to abject anger when it was Ted Cruz’s turn to ask questions. The Texas senator grew visibly frustrated, his voice escalating, while laying into the deputy director. Throughout the exchange, Abbate smugly refused to answer basic questions.

Cruz hit on a common theme throughout his emotional response, which is that the FBI obviously has no respect at all for the American public. Its members simply believe they are above the law, and to this point, they’ve been right. The deputy director perfectly illustrated that attitude during the exchange as he hid behind baseless assertions of protocol to rhetorically spit in the faces of the American people.

To be specific, the FBI continues to play a game where they are able to avoid accountability and transparency no matter what the situation entails. If a question is asked that pertains to an “ongoing investigation,” the answer will be that it can’t be discussed so as not to interfere with the investigative process. We’ve seen that excuse used countless times over the years in congressional hearings.

Yet, when it comes to something like this FD-1023, which the FBI is obviously not investigating, the deputy director uses the same excuse, saying he won’t discuss it because of investigative protocols. It’s a heads-they-win, tails-we-lose dichotomy for the American people where the FBI is able to avoid questions about literally anything. The fact that Congress ostensibly oversees the bureau and has jurisdiction for oversight of it doesn’t even factor anymore. It’s a total free-for-all for unelected bureaucrats.

Does that sound like a representative democracy to you? Or does it sound like some third-world house of cards whereby those actually elected by the people have the least amount of power within the government? It’s actually terrifying when you think of the unlimited power being wielded by those who live under zero tangible checks and balances.

With all that said, it’s important to remember that words only go so far. In the end, the only way this gets fixed is by Republicans nominating someone who can win the 2024 election and who has a real plan for reform that goes past denunciations. GOP voters should demand that the candidates provide tangible details as to how they’ll stop the corruption at the FBI and DOJ. If they don’t have them, look elsewhere.