Logo

Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester grew frustrated — and a bit profane — at a mostly virtual Senate committee hearing on Thursday after technical issues garbled his question.

“Holy s–t, I thought we had better technology than this,” Tester told Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at the Senate Banking Committee hearing.

Mnuchin struggled to hear Tester’s inquiry about data security for American Indians amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On the third attempt, Mnuchin heard the question and promised to look into it.

Tester, a farmer and former teacher known for his flat-top haircut and folksy manner, was re-elected in 2018 to a third term representing Montana.

“Senator Tester talks like a Montana farmer because he is one,” spokesman Roy Loewenstein told The Post.

“The news here is that — during a global pandemic that has disproportionately hurt Native communities — Secretary Mnuchin couldn’t answer questions about the security of sensitive data supplied by Tribal governments. That should frustrate every American.”

Tester is not alone in feeling flustered about technology as the pandemic expands digital operations for disproportionately elderly lawmakers.

Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware threw a fit last month when he nearly missed his turn to grill Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at a hearing on election mail.

“F–k, f–k, f–k!” Carper said, swiveling in his chair to bark the expletives at an aide.

The aide walked over to Carper’s desk and helped him work his livestream, which apparently had his audio feed muted before the outburst.

“Like most Americans in 2020, Senator Carper got frustrated with technical difficulties this morning,” his office said.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy