'Mr. Moore...Mr. Moore?': Lawmakers caught sleeping during committee meetings
The Brief
Rep. Blake Moore was shaken awake by Rep. Michelle Fischbach to vote during an all-night Ways and Means Committee hearing.
Two other lawmakers, Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Debbie Dingell, dozed off during a 20-hour House Committee meeting.
Dingell and Schakowsky joked about their exhaustion while fighting for healthcare access in late-night sessions.
WASHINGTON - Seems like even the country's lawmakers know that politics can be a bit of a snoozefest as a few had to be woken up during committee sessions.
The backstory
On Wednesday, Representative Blake Moore of Utah had to be shaken awake, by Minnesota Rep. Michelle Fischbach, to cast his vote on an amendment during an all-night Ways and Means Committee hearing.
The meeting started around 2:30 p.m. local time and continued on through the night. The meeting focused on discussing and voting on amendments to a Republican reconciliation bill.
RELATED: Democrats are deeply pessimistic about future of the party, poll finds
Footage showed Moore sound asleep in his chair as he was called on to vote on an amendment around 5 a.m. Wednesday local time
Two other lawmakers also fell asleep during a marathon U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce markup meeting that lasted for more than 20 hours.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, 80, of Illinois, and Rep. Debbie Dingell, 71, of Michigan, each appeared to fall asleep at different points during the meeting that was held to discuss and vote on amendments to the budget bill.
What they're saying
Dingell commented on the situation in a post on X, saying: "Been up for 31 hours straight fighting Republicans trying to gut Medicaid. Closed my eyes to think about an America where everyone has access to quality, affordable health care."
Schakowsky also posted a comment, saying: "We're on hour 25 of our marathon markup where my colleagues and I are fighting all day and night to protect health care access for all Americans."
RELATED: Biden's team considered wheelchair amid health concerns: New book
The Source
Storyful contributed to this report. The information in this story comes from various sources, including footage of Rep. Blake Moore sleeping during a Ways and Means Committee hearing, as well as comments from Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Debbie Dingell shared on X (formerly Twitter). This story was reported from Los Angeles.
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