‘I Can’t Believe That This Is a Congressional Hearing’: Comer Dings ‘Repeat Offenders’ Throwing His Committee into Chaos

Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Katie Porter (D-CA) joined CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday to discuss their bipartisan ethics reform bill that requires presidential and vice presidential candidates to disclose their taxes and many foreign payments.

“This legislation is a sincere, credible effort to try to define what exactly constitutes influence peddling and prevent it from happening in the future,” Comer said of the bill.

Tapper then asked Porter and Comer to dive into some more details of the bill and other areas, including stock trading and Supreme Court ethics, that could later be attached to the bill.

“So the bill is written pertaining to the executive branch. Once the bill goes to the floor, then it could be amended to include ethics reform for members of Congress, like a ban on stock trading. It could even potentially include things pertaining to ethics reform for the Supreme Court. So I think this bill is a vehicle for a lot of potential good that both parties have complained about for decades,” Comer concluded in that part of the discussion.

Tapper then pivoted a bit, saying, “We always like to herald bipartisanship on the show. And this is really, remarkable. And the fact that you’re both on the House Oversight Committee, makes this next question a little bit difficult. But there was a moment on your committee last week, just to remind our viewers this is what it was.”

Tapper then played a clip of Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) trading childish insults in a recent Oversight Committee hearing.

“What now is what might be my favorite part of that? That, what was going through your head during that?” Tapper then asked Comer.

“I can’t believe that this is a congressional hearing, it was very unfortunate. Wasn’t the first time. I hope it’s the last time,” Comer replied, adding:

The members that, have been constant, repeat offenders of breaking decorum have both have all been called out, and, hopefully it won’t happen again. But, you’re not supposed to engage in personalities. And unfortunately, that’s what happened in the last committee hearing. Representative Greene’s words were struck. I think Representative Crockett said some very inappropriate things as well. It’s unfortunate, because that was a very important committee hearing that that got hijacked by a few, unfortunate soundbites.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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