Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, had a bumpy beginning to a hearing on “Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure.”
Carper opened the committee hearing from the car of an Amtrak train after running into traffic in his commute to Washington, D.C.
The Delaware senator explained, “Unbeknownst to me, the whole city of Wilmington practically was shut down, and no traffic was moving. And I know the police pretty well, but there’s no way they’re going to let me go through.”
He said after he missed his initial train, he thought he would drive down to the Capitol, but, “They also shut down access to I-95 for the most part.”
However, he was able to secure passage to the nation’s capital on another train, where he was able to lead the hearing remotely.
“I’ve never done this before, so we’ll see how this works out. But, jumping around, it’s because the train is jumping around, I’m not jittery,” he added.
Watch the video below:
WATCH: @SenatorCarper began chairing a hearing this morning on a train and arrived about 30 minutes later.@SenDuckworth: "I hope you weren't on the quiet car."
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 17, 2021
Sen. Carper: "I was not. I went all the way to the front car and there weren't many people up there." pic.twitter.com/Yb0WFDXZqs
Carper eventually made it to the Senate’s hearing room, where he was able to chair the hearing in person.
“Today’s St. Patrick’s day, the luck of the Irish,” he said.
He noted that President Joe Biden was in Wilmington, Delaware, and attended mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, “which is right on my way to the train station,” and the police had blocked the traffic as a result.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) interjected, “I hope you weren’t on the quiet car.”
“I was not. I went all the way to the front car, and there weren’t many people up there,” Carper responded.
Despite the bumpy beginning to his hearing, Carper joked that he can “stop coming to hearings or just do it on a train.”