Dem Rep. at Obamacare hearing: "I will not yield to this monkey court"

New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone loses his cool during Thursday's hearing on Healthcare.gov's malfunctions

Published October 24, 2013 3:20PM (EDT)

Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone went off on his colleagues during Thursday's House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the troubled Obamacare website, Healthcare.gov.

"I started out in my opening statement saying there was no legitimacy to this hearing and the last line of the questioning certainly confirms that," Pallone said. Pallone went on to describe how a law protecting Americans' medical privacy did not apply to the Healthcare.gov example, despite Republicans' previous questions implying a potential breach of privacy.

"So once again, here we have my Republican colleagues trying to scare everybody."

Pallone was then interrupted by Republican Rep. Joe Barton, who asked, "Will the gentleman yield?"

"No, I will not yield to this monkey court, or whatever this thing is!" Pallone responded.

"This is not a monkey court!" Barton insisted in response.

Watch Pallone's outburst below, via Talking Points Memo:


By Elias Isquith

Elias Isquith is a former Salon staff writer.

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Frank Pallone Healthcare.gov Joe Barton Monkey Court Obamacare Video