Republican Senator John Cornyn found himself in a tough spot when a Democratic lawmaker showed up at his press conference and spoke out publicly.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) showed up at Cornyn’s planned event at an Austin airport, where the senator was set to discuss funding for the Transportation Security Administration during the government shutdown.
Before Cornyn could even start talking, Casar stepped in front of the reporters and changed the topic.
“Well, you know, the only acting award should go to Senator Cornyn,” Casar said the day after the Oscars, criticizing Cornyn for trying to talk about TSA funding after blocking it.
“Just last week, the Democrats in the Senate and House offered a bill to fully fund TSA, and Senator Cornyn and the Republicans blocked it,” he added.
Casar then made it worse.
“So, I’m kind of confused about why Senator Cornyn would be here having a press conference at the airport about funding TSA,” he said, “when it’s him who has blocked the funding.”
That was hard to hear.
When Cornyn finally arrived, the argument moved to the airport parking lot — and things got heated quickly.
“Senator, I was hoping that we could—” Casar started before being interrupted.
“Why don’t you tell your Democrats to vote to pay these poor agents?”
Cornyn shot back.
“Let’s do it,” Casar replied, pointing to a bipartisan bill to fund the TSA.
That’s when the Republican senator lost his temper.
“No, you do it!”
Cornyn shouted.
Casar tried to bring the conversation back to the legislation.
“Let’s talk for a second, Senator.
There’s a bipartisan bill to fund just the TSA.”
Cornyn’s reply?
“Not acceptable!”
The argument, which was recorded on video, quickly went viral, turning what was supposed to be a regular press event into a public embarrassment.
Instead of talking about airport security, Cornyn ended up explaining why he lost his temper after being questioned about blocking the very funding he claimed to support.
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