‘When Does It Stop?’ Even the Senate Republican Press Conference Got Derailed by the Nationwide Emergency Alert
If your phone and online devices sounded an alarm a short time ago, try not to panic, because everything’s fine. This was scheduled to happen.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) announced back in August that they were going to run a test today on the National Wireless Emergency Alert System.
The operation was undertaken to evaluate the system’s effectiveness for warning the country for actual emergencies, but since all phones, televisions and radios just went off at the same time, there was the inevitable slew of jokey reactions to the collective experience.
As it were, the Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate were holding a press conference on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster when the alarm went off on them. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) joked “I only respond when there’s an emergency” as her colleagues and reporters took in the situation. She eventually asked Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for guidance, prompting him to shrug and ask “When does it stop?”
If you need further proof that no one in the Senate was immune to the alert, here’s Ted Cruz (R-TX) getting derailed when the system cut him off.
Never a dull moment.
Watch above.
