- Title: Perry and Franken enjoy comic exchange at confirmation hearing
- Date: 19th January 2017
- Summary: WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 19, 2017) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) FORMER TEXAS GOVERNOR, RICK PERRY, SITTING BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES WIDE OF SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA, AL FRANKEN, SAYING: "Governor, thank you so much for coming into my office. Did you enjoy meeting me?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER TEXAS GOVERNOR, RICK PERRY, SAYING: "I hope you're as much fun on that dais as you were on your couch. (FRANKEN SAYING 'WELL', LOOKING DOWN AND SHAKING HEAD, THEN PERRY BACK ON CAMERA) May I rephrase that sir?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA, AL FRANKEN, SAYING: "Well. . . please, please, please. Oh, my Lord. Oh, my Lord (PERRY LAUGHING)." (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY SAYING: "Well, I think we found our 'Saturday Night Live' soundbites." FRANKEN LAUGHING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA, AL FRANKEN, SAYING: "Let's move on." PERRY LAUGHING WIDE OF COMMITTEE (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA, AL FRANKEN, SAYING: "And we owe it to our...I don't know if you have grandchildren yet. I know your daughter." (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER TEXAS GOVERNOR, RICK PERRY, SAYING: "A little early for that. They were just married in October." (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA, AL FRANKEN, SAYING: "Yes, yes. See, I'm not a mathematician. (PERRY LAUGHING) My time is over. (FRANKEN ON CAMERA) It's gone. It's done. Thank you." PAN OF COMMITTEE
- Embargoed: 2nd February 2017 18:15
- Keywords: Department of Energy Rick Perry Senator Al Franken confirmation hearing
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0015ZR0PJB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Rick Perry, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick to run the Energy Department, offered unintentional comic relief during his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday (January 19).
Perry, 66, the former governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015, brought laughter to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in his response to Al Franken, a former writer and performer on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, but now a Democratic senator from Minnesota.
"Governor, thank you so much for coming into my office. Did you enjoy meeting me?" asked Franken after several hours of testimony in which Perry made frequent comments about meeting privately with members of the committee.
"I hope you're as much fun on that dais as you were on your couch," replied Perry, bringing the committee and members of public and press to laughter.
"Well, I think we found our Saturday Night Live soundbites," Perry added, prompting a smile from Franken.
After several minutes of serious exchange on climate change, Franken then offered another moment with a self-deprecating remark before yielding his time. - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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