Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy is much better known for demolishing Democrats than ridiculing Republicans, but Kristi Noem might be the exception.
The South Dakota Republican and the now-soon-to-be-former Cabinet official made headlines Wednesday as Kennedy used a Senate hearing to probe insistently about a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign that made Noem out to be some kind of heroine for Homeland Security.
And only a day later, Noem’s ouster was making headlines of its own.
Kennedy’s questioning was polite — almost excruciatingly so — but his skepticism was on full display over Noem’s answers when it came to whether President Donald Trump was fully behind the $220 million ad campaign.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said at one point. “But the president approved, ahead of time, your spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?”
There was some crosstalk before Kennedy —scourge of Democratsduring President JoeBiden’s administration— dropped the hammer hard.
“I’m not saying you’re not telling the truth. It’s just hard for me to believe,” he said. “Knowing the president as I do, that you said, ‘Mr. President, here’s some ads I’ve cut and I’m going to spend $220 million running them,’ that he would have agreed to that…”
(Kennedy’s Southern upbringing was showing here. There aren’t many ways a gentleman can call a lady a liar to her face, but prefacing a statement with “I’m not saying you’re not telling the truth…” is one of them.)
Kennedy also questioned how the contracts for the ads were awarded, strongly implying the money went to Noem insiders.
But it was very likely the moment that Kennedy brought Trump into his questions and Noem included Trump in her answers that her career in Trump’s Cabinet effectively ended.
Source: VidNews » Feed
