Rep. Jerry Nadler (D–NY) was caught dozing off during a Wednesday hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, and now sleepy heads on the Hill have everyone talking.
During the hearing, Rep. Nadler appears blissfully unaware as he dozes off while discussions carry on. Off–camera whispers can be heard, “Might want to wake him up“ and “Disgrace … sleeping through this.”
WATCH: Jerry Nadler getting paid $174,000 a year for LITERALLY sleeping on the job. pic.twitter.com/wEg4L8pL51
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) May 24, 2023
Nadler was the top Democrat on the committee but since Republicans retook the lower chamber in the 2022 midterms, his power has decreased significantly. So much so that his colleagues didn‘t seem to care much about his power nap during the hearing.
As the story went viral, criticism of Nadler‘s napping quickly began to surface. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R–FL) commented that the committee had done its best work with the New York Democrat in low power mode. Others chimed in and said that it was a “known thing“ on the Hill to find people sleeping as if it was commonplace.
Though the incident ended without much fuss, it ironically may have been better for everyone if it had been the only time Nadler had been caught sleeping on camera.
In late November 2020, during a House Rules Committee hearing, Nadler appeared to have had an accident on live television as confusion and shouts of his name could be heard on the floor. This incident is ironically better never to be mentioned again and has been replaced with the story about Nadler‘s power nap.
Congressman Nadler had quite a surprise when he awoke from his nap. His face was all over the screens and he had become a trending topic. His staff has yet to comment on what has become a widely shared and discussed incident.
The bill being discussed before Nadler fell asleep was a regulatory reform bill that he was helping to edit before sending it to the full House floor.
So the next time you see a fellow congressional representative dozing off during a committee hearing, take a moment and consider that this event is not without precedent. The question now is, if Nadler‘s power has become so low that his colleagues don‘t care and Twitterati use it to bring up snide remarks, will this be the last time he sleeps on the job? We will have to wait and see.
