Can you smell what The Rock is cooking...inside the U.S. Capitol?
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson met with several U.S. Senators in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to discuss his efforts to help with military recruitment.
The meeting featured Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Susan Collins (R-ME), Todd Young (R-IN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). Johnson's business partner, XFL co-owner and chairwoman Dany Garcia, was also present.
Tester, who arranged the sit-down, according to NBC News, said Johnson is "going to advocate for people to join the military over a period of time."
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βHeβs got an incredible following, maybe the biggest," Tester added.
βI'm really pleased that he's helping with military recruitment,β Sen. Collins said. βI think he is a powerful influencer."
Collins also admitted that she "got as many pictures with him as I possibly could.β
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The Associated Press reported that at the end of the latest fiscal year, the Army brought in a bit more than 50,000 recruits, falling short of the publicly stated βstretch goalβ of 65,000. The Navy and the Air Force also fell short of their recruitment goals, but leaders said both did better than predictions earlier this year. The Marine Corps and the tiny Space Force have said they would meet their enlistment targets.
In 2020, Johnson and Garcia partnered up with RedBird Capital to purchase the XFL. The football league, which was once owned by WWE founder Vince McMahon, announced plans to merge with the USFL in September.
Johnson, an actor, film producer and legendary wrestler, recently revealed that he was approached by multiple political parties in 2022 about running for president. While Johnson declined those overtures, he hasn't completely ruled out launching a presidential campaign in the future.