Open mic catches Senator Tom Carper cursing during Senate hearing on U.S. Postal Service
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) swore on-air after an apparent glitch during a Senate virtual hearing Friday on the Postal Service threatened to prevent him from joining the hearing.
Sen. Tom Carper experienced some technical difficulties Friday morning.
The Delaware Democrat said the "F-word" three times during a virtual Senate hearing on the United States Postal Service, which aired uncensored over C-SPAN.
The episode began when Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) invited Carper to speak.
"Sen. Carper," he said, to silence, as the camera stayed on Johnson. "Is Sen. Carper there?"
Carper seemed to be unaware that he was unmuted – and on air – as he was turned away from his computer when he shouted the expletive in frustration.
Carper's colleagues quickly caught his attention, however, and Carper muted his mic.
Johnson then called on Carper and appeared to allude to Carper’s comments: “We don’t want to be on TV again.”
Carper then proceeded with his questions.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, asked Carper to unmute himself again after the hearing resumed.
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A spokeswoman for Carper said he “got frustrated with technical difficulties this morning, but that pales in comparison to his frustration with a Postmaster General who’s actively undermining the U.S. Postal Service during a national crisis.”
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many U.S. governmental meetings and speeches have been conducted remotely and a number of unfortunate moments or technical woes have been captured.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., responded to the gaffe on Twitter, writing, "Oh my."
“Like most Americans in 2020, Senator Carper got frustrated with technical difficulties this morning," a spokeswoman for Carper, told. "But that pales in comparison to his frustration with a Postmaster General who’s actively undermining the U.S. Postal Service during a national crisis.”
The Senate panel had convened to question President Donald Trump's Postmaster General Louis DeJoy after he instated operational changes at the USPS amid criticisms the moves would hinder the delivery of mail-in ballots in November's election.
DeJoy drew strong objections from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over the Postal Service's sudden changes, which included cuts in overtime and other policies that have led to mail delivery delays.
