Sen. Ron Johnson, chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, asked Carper if he could unmute himself. When Carper said he had, Johnson hugged and said “OK, um, we do not want to be on TV again.”
Carper stepped up on seemingly unnecessary steps to ask DeJoy about the concerns of his constituents about the USPS.
“Like most Americans in 2020, Senator Carper got frustrated this morning with technical difficulties, but that subsides compared to his frustration with a Postmaster General who is actively undermining the U.S. Postal Service in a national crisis,” he said. Carper’s spokeswoman in a statement to POLITICO.
The senator too tweeted later Friday morning: “Those who know me know that there are a few things that bother me more than protecting the postal service!”
The hearing was an opportunity for senators to ask DeJoy about a number of changes made to the Postal Service that have gained intense scrutiny in the run-up to the November presidential election. DeJoy defended his changes to the service, saying it was financially flawed and working poorly. He rejected the narrative he put together with President Donald Trump to discourage the service because he is expected to send an unusual number of voters into their polls amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The hearing had its fair share of exciting questioning, but Carper’s mishap immediately stood out as one of his most memorable moments.
Hill reporters and lawmakers began tweeting about the incident, bundling over a small moment of comic relief amid an exceptionally tumultuous year.
The Daily Caller tweeted a video from Carper swore with a cry-of-laugh emoji.
“Vote for 2020,” tweeted Vox Reporter Aaron Rupar.
Ric Grenell, who served a short stint this year as acting director of national intelligence, seemed less amused at the moment. He described it as a “profane meltdown on a staff sled because he does not know how to unmute his own computer.” Grenell criticized CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins for tweeting “OK, I needed that” about Carper’s mishap, saying “Journalism is dead.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) Cite, however tweeted Grenell and said, “I never agree with Ric. This video keeps me together today.”
Former Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) Tried to refocus the hearing on the issues at stake.
“Blooper aside, Tom Carper knows more about the postal service than any other U.S. senator,” she said wrote on Twitter.
