Secretary of State Marco Rubio was left stunned when a Democratic lawmaker he just got done roasting for being rude and not allowing him to answer questions, tucked-tail and practically ran out of the room. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) opted to use her time during the hearing to rip into Rubio and the Trump administration rather than using it effectively and allow Rubio to respond to her inquiries.
Kamlager-Dove slammed Rubio during the hearing for calling out “corruption” in other countries around the world, but for allegedly not doing so in the United States. During her ranting, Rubio attempted to jump in several times and respond to the questions and comments being made, but Kamlager-Dove was having none of it.
“I can’t say anything because you won’t let me,” Rubio said at one point. She pressed on, saying, “It is about credibility… and your credibility meter is on empty right now. This oil, who determines the barrels of oil that gets sold? How many of them? At what price does it get sold? Where is it going? I will let you. The onus is on you to prove that there is no corruption happening.”
“That is your responsibility as the Secretary of State. And you know what? Normally, we would have access to that data. That’s the transparency,” she added, according to Yahoo News. Rubio, who is a fighter through and through, fired back, “You just don’t know where to look.” The California Democrat responded, “But you’re not showing us any receipts. Well, then show us. Do you commit to coming back here with whoever the person is who is monitoring the sales of the oil? Bring them before this committee. Have the documentation.”
“You don’t have this time yet. I am talking about your credibility and evidence, not your talking points,” Kamlager-Dove went on to say as Rubio laughed. She then added, “We are five months into this and no audits, zero visibility into the contracts that are awarded, zero transparency about where the money is going, and giving contracts with no transparency is exactly the reason why you shut down USAID, so practice what you preach.”
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Rubio torched Kamlager-Dove by quipping, “Oh, she gets to scream now, too?” Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) then asked that the Democratic lawmaker’s words be taken down and offered to give the secretary some of her time to respond, but again, didn’t get the chance as Kamlager-Dove got up and appeared to be leaving the hearing, a move which many conservatives interpreted as her not really being interested in hearing from Rubio, but wanting to vent her frustrations.
“What kind of thing is this? What is this? You know, you get asked questions for five minutes, and you don’t get time to answer. It’s not a hearing. It’s like a dunk tank. What is this?” a stunned Rubio asked. He added, “How can I answer the question when you don’t even give me time?! I’ve had to use your time to answer their questions. Alright, whatever.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video