Senator Tom Carper of Delaware suffered an on-camera hot mic meltdown over tech issues during a remote Senate hearing, yelling out in frus...
Senator Tom Carper of Delaware suffered an on-camera hot mic meltdown over tech issues during a remote Senate hearing, yelling out in frustration when he thought his video feed was down.
Instead, his expletive-laden outburst was carried during live cable feeds of a closely watched hearing about the functioning of the postal service.
'F***, f***, f***!' Carper yelled, turning to the side it what looked like his congressional office.
'F***, f***, f***!' yelled Sen. Top Carper after he thought technical issues would cost him his turn at a high-profile hearing on the Postal Service
The panel's Republican chairman, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, had just recognized Carper to speak, at a tense hearing where Democrats were trying to explore any deliberate efforts to sabotage mail-in voting.
'Senator Carper? Is Senator Carper there?' said Johnson, pausing during the glitch, and running hearing from a kitchen. Then, as he was about to call on Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, the feed cut to Carper – who turned to the side during his outburst and could be heard slapping his knee or another surface.
Then, Lankford said he thought Carper was 'going to be able to do it all over right now,' prompting Johnson to smile and acknowledge the snafu.
'Sen. Carper, can you unmute?' he told him. 'We don’t want to be on TV again,' Johnson told him.
He turned to the side in his Senate office when he thought the feed wasn't working, as an aide helped get his tech going
Panel chair Sen. Ron Johnson asked Carper to unmute his computer
Then, Carper proceeded accordingly, scolding DeJoy and tearing into President Trump, saying: 'We got a president who doesn’t want to have vote-by-mail. We got a president who likes to suppress the vote.'
Carper, 73, has a mild-mannered reputation and typical demeanor in the halls of Congress, although he admitted to slapping his wife in an argument nearly 40 years ago, and has apologized for the incident.
Earlier, Democrats tore into Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at the start of his first appearance at a congressional hearing since the furor over of his policy changes that they warned are endangering Americans and harming businesses.
'The Postal Service has always delivered. But Mr. DeJoy, I don't think you have. You have not delivered in this brief tenure,' scolded Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
'In less than two months as Postmaster General, you have undermined one of our nations most trusted institutions,' he fumed.
'The Postal Service is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time,' Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told a Senate panel Friday
He said new changes brought delays that have 'hurt people across the nation.'
'Your decisions have cost Americans their health, their time, their livelihoods and their peace of mind,' Peters told him at the start of a remote hearing.
He pointed to a number of policy changes – which DeJoy testified predated his arrival – as endangering his tenure.
'If you plan to continue pursuing these kinds of changes, I think my colleagues, and many of our constituents, will continue to question whether you are the right person to lead this indispensable public institution,' he said.
He said he has received 7,500 reports of mail delays, including from a girl named Mary who couldn't get her epilepsy meds on time.
DeJoy in his remarks tried to shoot down Democratic howls that he was deliberately overseeing an effort to sabotage the mail amid President Trump's furious attacks on mail-in ballots.
'As we head into the election season, I want to assure this committee and the American public. The Postal Service is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time. This sacred duty is my number one priority between now and election day,' he said.
DeJoy said the Postal Service is 'fully capable and committed to delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time'
DeJoy said there has been a drop in mail volume, and that the removal of postal machines and mail boxes was put in place before the start of his tenure
Panel chair Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who is also overseeing a probe into the FBI during the Russia investigation, backed up DeJoy, who said he did not concoct any kind of deliberate plan to take mail sorting machines out of commission and remove mail boxes to impact the mail for the elections.
'I was made aware when everybody else was made aware,' said DeJoy, who only began his post this summer.
'So this isn't some devious plot on your part,' Johnson responded.
Johnson defended DeJoy, citing his 'commendable attempt to reduce those excess costs that are now being cynically used to create this false political narrative.'
Republican Sen. Rob Portman asked DeJoy point-blank whether he supported vote-by-mail – a practice President Trump has attacked. Trump says he backs absentee voting, but has railed against widespread efforts to send out ballots or ballot-request forms.
'I do,' DeJoy responded. 'I think the American public should be able to vote by mail and the Postal Service will support it, so I guess that’s yes.'
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