Senate hearing gets heated over shutdown after 'stalking' accusation flies

A Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Transportation Department nominees blew up Wednesday when Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., accused Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, of stalking her car.

The tense exchange erupted as Ryan McCormack, President Donald Trump's nominee for Transportation under secretary for policy, was being questioned.

Moreno said he had obtained the vehicle identification numbers, or VINs, of several Democratic senators' cars to highlight what he called the party's hypocrisy on safety technology. VINs are typically visible through a car's windshield.

He claimed none of the vehicles were equipped with optional driver-assistance features that Democrats have pushed to require for federal workers. Moreno argued the findings undercut the party's effort to mandate such technologies for all vehicles.

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The revelation triggered a fiery back-and-forth as Rosen accused Moreno of stalking her and her staff's cars.

"The car that I drive should be safe. The car that my staff drives - who cares about them? I get a paycheck," Moreno said before Rosen cut him off.

"I object to you stalking my car and my staff to find the VIN numbers to present to this committee," Rosen shot back.

"It's visible from the outside of the car," Moreno replied.

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Rosen pressed him further, suggesting he had gone out of his way to track her vehicle.

"So you went and followed me to see who drives me? Wrote down their VIN number so you could find out what they have? That seems a little creepy," Rosen said.

"Just to expose the hypocrisy," Moreno answered.

Moreno then noted that lawmakers, including Rosen, continue to receive pay during the government shutdown while federal employees do not.

"You get a paycheck. What do you say to the TSA workers? What do you say to the air traffic controllers?" Moreno said.

"I'm donating my paychecks," Rosen replied. "The government is shut down, my friend. You are in control of the White House, the House and the Senate. If you went home to a food bank instead of going to Mar-a-Lago for a gold-plated dinner while people are starving, you might see and hear your constituents. You are blind to the suffering of your people."

The confrontation eventually fizzled after Moreno asked whether it takes 60 votes to pass legislation.

"It takes you listening and coming to the table," Rosen said.

Rosen later said during the hearing that she does not have a car in Washington, D.C., and that her staff drives her to work. She called Moreno's move an "overreach" and an invasion of her and her staff's privacy. She asked him to submit the VINs that he obtained and to explain what he plans to do with them.