GOP Senator Makes Awkward Zoological Crack to Break the Ice With Trump Cabinet Secretary At Hearing

Trump Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the subject of a super-weird zoologically-oriented opening compliment from Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) at a hearing.

Before beginning his stint as head of Trump’s State Department, Rubio spent over a dozen years serving as United States senator from Florida, during which time he also ran for president and became the first candidate in history to introduce explicit references to penis size into presidential politics.

Rubio testified at a budget hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, during which Sen. Lee followed a heated exchange between Rubio and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

When committee Chairman Sen. James Risch (R-ID) gave the floor to Lee, it was as if the senator from Utah was momentarily possessed by the spirit of Marlon Perkins, as he alluded to Rubio’s time in the Senate with the bestial enthusiasm of a Six Flags safari intern:

CHAIRMAN JAMES RISCH (R-ID) Going to move to Senator Lee?

SEN. MIKE LEE (R-UT): Mr. Secretary, it’s very good to have you back here.

I want to say it’s good to see the fauna in its natural habitate– habitat.

But it’s more like its former habitat because your current one is also where you naturally belong.

And I, for one, I know the majority of us feel the same way. Have every confidence in your ability to serve us and are very grateful for your service.

One of the many things that I’ve always liked about you and I always agree with you on is your clear-eyed vision for the Western Hemisphere.

Lee went on to praise Rubio’s appreciation for the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the protection they afford, and to ask “Where the Western Heminsphere fits relative to other regions of the globe with the current admninistration.”

Watch above via Reuters.