Jon Stewart doesn't need his own show to continue lambasting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — and McConnell now has a response.
Stewart last week delivered a fiery speech in a House Judiciary Committee hearing, urging Congress to permanently authorize the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. During the hearing, he blasted Congress for the hearing's low attendance, saying the sight of a "nearly empty Congress" is an "embarrassment to the country and it is a stain on this institution," also saying that those who weren't there should be "ashamed of yourselves."
McConnell dismissed that complaint in a Fox & Friends interview on Monday. "That frequently happens because members have a lot of things going on at the same time," McConnell said. "It sounds to me like he's looking for some way to take offense."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Senate majority leader also responded to an interview with Stewart on Sunday in which the former Daily Show host complained that McConnell has never dealt with this issue "compassionately" and has "always held out until the very last minute" and only moved on the issue after "intense lobbying and public shaming."
"Many things in Congress happen at the last minute," McConnell said in response, promising the issue will be addressed and wondering why Stewart is "so bent out of shape." If this public feud continues, it may not be long before Stewart begins dusting off the turtle comparisons. Brendan Morrow
-
Groypers: the alt-right group pulled into the foregroundThe Explainer The network is led by alt-right activist Nick Fuentes
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fallThe Week Recommends Concert tour season isn't over. Check out these headliners.
-
How to put student loan payments on pauseThe Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
