Speaker Paul Ryan embarrassed a reporter for asking a question that he already addressed in his opening statements during a Thursday briefing.
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“I guess this would be the fourth time in as many months that you all have had to pass a CR — why is that?” Nash Jenkins, a reporter for TIME, asked Ryan.
Ryan had already addressed the issue in his opening statement, and chided Jenkins for apparently not paying attention.
“Do you want me to read my opening again?” Ryan said, causing the crowd of reporters to laugh.
Ryan decided to stoke Jenkins’ ego a bit after brutalizing him in front of his peers, adding, “it’s a totally legitimate question, I don’t mean to belittle your question.”
“Senate Democrats are not allowing appropriation bills to even be allowed to be brought up for a vote,” Ryan explained again. “They’re attaching unrelated issues to cap negotiations.”
In his opening statement, Ryan addressed the reporter’s exact question.
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“Continuing resolutions are not ideal,” Ryan said during his remarks. “That is why the House passed all 12 of the appropriation bills ahead of schedule before the fiscal year. The only reason any one is even necessary, the only reason we had to pass a CR today is because Democrats refuse to close on a spending agreement, taking it hostage for an immigration deal.”