Watch Sen. Pat Roberts' cellphone play 'Let It Go' during Senate hearing

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack tries not to crack up at Sen. Pat Roberts&#039; cellphone ringtone

(Image credit: AP/YouTube)

published 17 April 2015

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), a few days shy of his 79th birthday, isn't your typical Elsa fan. But he is a walking reminder that you should always keep your cellphone on vibrate when you're at work — especially if you don't want colleagues (and the nation, in Roberts' case) to know you answer your phone to "Let It Go," from the Disney film Frozen. Here's the awkward moment, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on "Congress and U.S. Tariff Policy":

Worse, the senior senator from Kansas was trying to grill Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack when his phone went off. In a subsequent tweet, Roberts tried to play it off, making a lame joke and pretending his ringtone is #forthegrandkids. He probably could have used the publicity better, perhaps trying to get people to care about U.S. tariff policy. Below, you can watch the lead-up, with Vilsack making some point about agricultural tariffs — and trying not to crack up at the perhaps welcome interruption from Idina Menzel. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.