Republican Senator Glitches After Hearing Answer to His Own Question
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday on Trump’s mass deportation plans, Republican Senator John Kennedy, as is his wont, pestered a witness with questions he didn’t care to hear answers to.The hearing, titled “How Mass Deportations Will Separate American Families, Harm Our Armed Forces, and Devastate Our Economy,” focused on the damaging effects of Trump’s proposed immigration agenda. But in one bizarre line of questioning, Kennedy asked the same question over and over again while pretending not to hear the answer.Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) malfunctions during a hearing on mass deportations.KENNEDY: Who in Texas had their knives out for Black immigrants? Give me a name. Give me a name.AARON REICHLIN-MELNICK: ...My suspicion is Ken Paxton...KENNEDY: Give me a name. Give me a name.… pic.twitter.com/YpjSOENpT9— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) December 10, 2024Witness Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, testified that a mass deportation campaign could cost as much as $1 trillion and lead to a loss in total gross domestic product of 4.2 to 6.8 percent.Louisiana’s John Kennedy was evidently more concerned with a November 2022 tweet in which Reichlin-Melnick criticized Texas and Louisiana for taking legal action against the Department of Homeland Security “for NOT expelling Haitian migrants to Haiti under Title 42,” when, in reality, he wrote, Title 42 expulsions were down “because Haitians stopped crossing illegally!”“Both Texas and Louisiana have their knives out for Black immigrants,” Reichlin-Melnick posted at the time. “Once Haitians stopped crossing irregularly, it’s so telling that the plaintiffs once again demand that a federal court wield Title 42 against Haitians to stop them from entering at ports of entry too.” Kennedy, apparently offended by the criticism from over two years ago, asked whether Reichlin-Melnick remembered the tweet. The witness said he did not recall the exact context.“Who in Texas had their ‘knives out’ for Black immigrants?” Kennedy asked nonetheless, and Reichlin-Melnick began to respond before he was interrupted by Kennedy, who ordered, “Give me a name.”As Kennedy spoke over him—intoning, “Give me a name. Give me a name. Give me a name”—Reichlin-Melnick answered that he was likely referring to the states’ attorneys general, mentioning Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by name.“Give me a name,” Kennedy continued.“I just did,” said Reichlin-Melnick.“You don’t have a name, do you?” asked Kennedy.“I just said Ken Paxton,” replied Reichlin-Melnick.“You don’t have a name, do you?” asked Kennedy, again.“I just said Ken Paxton,” repeated Reichlin-Melnick.This is not the first time Kennedy has malfunctioned, as progressive outlet Heartland Signal put it, while badgering a congressional witness. In September, while grandstanding during a hearing on hate crimes against Arab and Jewish Americans, the senator accused Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute, of supporting Hamas and Hezbollah. Kennedy spoke over Berry’s repeated denials, making headlines for telling her she should “hide [her] head in a bag.”
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday on Trump’s mass deportation plans, Republican Senator John Kennedy, as is his wont, pestered a witness with questions he didn’t care to hear answers to.
The hearing, titled “How Mass Deportations Will Separate American Families, Harm Our Armed Forces, and Devastate Our Economy,” focused on the damaging effects of Trump’s proposed immigration agenda. But in one bizarre line of questioning, Kennedy asked the same question over and over again while pretending not to hear the answer.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) malfunctions during a hearing on mass deportations.
KENNEDY: Who in Texas had their knives out for Black immigrants? Give me a name. Give me a name.
AARON REICHLIN-MELNICK: ...My suspicion is Ken Paxton...
KENNEDY: Give me a name. Give me a name.… pic.twitter.com/YpjSOENpT9— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) December 10, 2024
Witness Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, testified that a mass deportation campaign could cost as much as $1 trillion and lead to a loss in total gross domestic product of 4.2 to 6.8 percent.
Louisiana’s John Kennedy was evidently more concerned with a November 2022 tweet in which Reichlin-Melnick criticized Texas and Louisiana for taking legal action against the Department of Homeland Security “for NOT expelling Haitian migrants to Haiti under Title 42,” when, in reality, he wrote, Title 42 expulsions were down “because Haitians stopped crossing illegally!”
“Both Texas and Louisiana have their knives out for Black immigrants,” Reichlin-Melnick posted at the time. “Once Haitians stopped crossing irregularly, it’s so telling that the plaintiffs once again demand that a federal court wield Title 42 against Haitians to stop them from entering at ports of entry too.”
Kennedy, apparently offended by the criticism from over two years ago, asked whether Reichlin-Melnick remembered the tweet. The witness said he did not recall the exact context.
“Who in Texas had their ‘knives out’ for Black immigrants?” Kennedy asked nonetheless, and Reichlin-Melnick began to respond before he was interrupted by Kennedy, who ordered, “Give me a name.”
As Kennedy spoke over him—intoning, “Give me a name. Give me a name. Give me a name”—Reichlin-Melnick answered that he was likely referring to the states’ attorneys general, mentioning Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by name.
“Give me a name,” Kennedy continued.
“I just did,” said Reichlin-Melnick.
“You don’t have a name, do you?” asked Kennedy.
“I just said Ken Paxton,” replied Reichlin-Melnick.
“You don’t have a name, do you?” asked Kennedy, again.
“I just said Ken Paxton,” repeated Reichlin-Melnick.
This is not the first time Kennedy has malfunctioned, as progressive outlet Heartland Signal put it, while badgering a congressional witness. In September, while grandstanding during a hearing on hate crimes against Arab and Jewish Americans, the senator accused Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute, of supporting Hamas and Hezbollah. Kennedy spoke over Berry’s repeated denials, making headlines for telling her she should “hide [her] head in a bag.”
