Out Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg had the best response to a Republican lawmaker’s nutty line of questions that argued that President Joe Biden is mentally and physically disabled and is therefore unable to do his job.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) – a sheriff who was just elected to the House in 2020 – questioned Buttigieg at a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing. Nehls referenced several far-right conspiracy theories about Biden in his questions, saying that Biden “shakes hands with ghosts,” “falls off bicycles,” and “the Easter Bunny had to guide him back to into his safe place” at the White House Easter event.
“My question for you is, sir, have you spoken with any other Cabinet members about implementing the 25th Amendment on President Biden?” Nehls asked. The 25th Amendment allows “the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide” to declare “that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
Biden actually did fall of a bike last month while in Delaware, unlike some of the other stories Nehls referenced.
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“First of all, I’m glad to have a president who can ride a bicycle, and-” Buttigieg started to reply, possibly a reference to Donald Trump’s statement that he “will never, ever ride a bicycle.”
“Answer the question!” Nehls barked, cutting Buttigieg off.
“I will look beyond the insulting nature of that question and make clear to you that the president of the United States-” Buttigieg said before Nehls cut him off again.
“Have you spoken to any Cabinet members about implementing the 25th Amendment on President Biden?” Nehls asked.
“Of course not,” Buttigieg said as the committee chair asked Nehls to allow Buttigieg to answer.
“This is my time!” Nehls responded, asking his question again even though it had already been answered.
“The president of the United States is as vigorous a colleague or boss as I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” Buttigieg said as Nehls continued to rant.
Nehls was out of time and asked the chair for another minute to question Buttigieg.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “If you had yielded the secretary some time to actually answer the ridiculous question, you might have actually gotten something.”
Nehls complained, but his mic was already cut off.
Nehls: He falls off bicycles
Buttigieg: I’m glad to have a President who can ride a bicycle pic.twitter.com/4PIsXm5DVn— Acyn (@Acyn) July 19, 2022
Nehls previously made headlines when he claimed that the “Intelligence Division [of the Capitol Police] investigated my office illegally and one of my staffers caught them in the act.”
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said that the congressmember’s door was “left open and unsecured, without anyone inside the office,” so officers entered to “document that and secure the office.”
