President Donald Trump is demanding the firing of a GOP aide who made Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) “look foolish and completely out of it” at a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing this week.
Trump blasted the staffer on his Truth Social platform shortly after midnight on Wednesday, identifying him as Robert Karem and posting a photo of him.
“The guy that came up to Mitch McConnell today when McConnell thought the hearing was over, and started speaking in his ear for Mitch to belatedly introduce some other people, all Democrats and, by doing so, made Mitch look foolish and completely out of it, should be immediately fired!” Trump wrote. “This was a case where Mitch wasn’t confused, he just didn’t understand why he was being asked to do something when it was too late, and people were wrapping up to leave — They wanted to go home.”
Trump went on to describe Karem as a “Never Trumper” who “has tremendous Democrat support” and “is praised relentlessly” by former President Barack Obama’s base.
“He is probably the reason why Mitch McConnell is stupidly opposed to terminating the Filibuster, and refuses to help with a 97% issue, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” he added. “FIRE THE BUM!”
A video excerpt of Tuesday’s meeting showed McConnell attempting to wrap up his remarks before his aide leaned over to remind him that several attendees ― Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) ― still had questions.
Catch a clip of Tuesday’s meeting via The Hill below.
After appearing to take a moment to compose himself, McConnell said, “Obviously, there’s not a whole lot of time for a second round, so we’ll get through everybody, and Sen. [Lisa] Murkowski, I’d appreciate your taking over.”
The longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, McConnell has faced heightened media scrutiny of his age, physical health and mental acuity in recent years. While the 84-year-old is not seeking reelection, his appearance at Tuesday’s hearing drew a fair amount of snark online, with one person writing on X: “The Senate shouldn’t be a retirement home.”
Despite the president’s claims, Karem does not appear to have garnered unusual levels of support from Democrats. The 48-year-old Kentucky native was on Trump’s transition team ahead of the president’s first term as an adviser to former CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
In 2017, he was appointed by Trump to become the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. He left that position in 2018.