Rick Perry tells Al Franken during confirmation hearing: ‘I think we found our Saturday Night Live soundbite’
Well, that was awkward.
Sen. Al Franken’s questioning of Energy secretary nominee Rick Perry got off to a hysterical start Thursday. And despite the Minnesota Democrat’s past career in comedy, it was Perry who inadvertently drew the laughs.
Perry to @alfranken: “I hope you are as much fun on that dais as you were on your couch.”
Franken: “Well…”
Perry: “May I rephrase that?” pic.twitter.com/jlx0lztfRL— POLITICO (@politico) January 19, 2017
Franken started off his questions by noting that Perry, the former Republican governor of Texas, had recently visited the senator’s office for a meeting.
“Did you enjoy meeting me?” Franken asked.
“I hope you are as much fun on that dais as you were on your couch,” Perry replied.
https://gifs.com/gif/perry-i-think-we-found-our-saturday-night-live-soundbite-3l3WVp
It only took a moment before both men realized the unintended innuendo of the statement, as the hearing room erupted in laughter.
“May I rephrase that, sir?” Perry asked.
“Please. Please. Please,” Franken said. “Oh my lord.”
“Well I think we found our Saturday Night Live soundbite,” Perry said, drawing a laugh from Franken, a former SNL writer and performer (he left the show in 1995 and was elected to the Senate in 2008).
The funny exchange perhaps belies another point of unintentional comedy, as Perry prepares to lead the Department of Energy. In a 2011 presidential primary debate, he famously forgot the Energy Department on a list of three federal agencies he wanted to eliminate. But on Thursday, Perry said he regretted calling for the department’s elimination.
He is expected to be confirmed, succeeding former MIT professor and proud Fall River native, Ernest Moniz.
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