‘FIRE THE BUM!’ Trump Calls Out ‘Grandstanding’ GOP Staffer Who Made Mitch McConnell Look ‘Out of It’ at Hearing
President Donald Trump called out a Republican Senate staffer by name, demanding his firing for intervening when Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) awkwardly moved to close proceedings at a hearing on Tuesday, before questioning had even finished.
The viral footage showed McConnell attempting to conclude a Senate hearing, thanking those who’d attended, before a staffer approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder and quietly informing him: “Baldwin, Shaheen, and Kennedy still have questions.”
McConnell then shifted course, telling the room: “Yeah, obviously there’s not a whole lot of time for a second round, so we’ll get through everybody and Senator Murkowski, I’d appreciate your taking over.”
Trump seized on the exchange hours later in a lengthy post on Truth Social and demanded McConnell “FIRE THE BUM” while claiming the staffer was a Never Trumper with “tremendous Democrat support.”
“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.
He continued: “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 then outed the staffer, identifying him as Robert Karem, suggesting he was to blame for McConnell’s opposition to his policies.
“He is a Never Trumper, and was grandstanding — trying to show how “important” he was! Karem has tremendous Democrat support, far greater than he should have, and is praised relentlessly by Obama’s people,” the president railed, concluding: “FIRE THE BUM!”

(Screengrab via Truth Social)
McConnell, 84, has faced repeated questions about his health following a series of separate public incidents in recent years in which he appeared to stall or freeze when speaking to reporters. In 2023, he suffered a concussion after a fall.
In February 2024, McConnell announced he was stepping down as the top Republican in the Senate, and would not seek reelection to the upper chamber of Congress when his current term ends in January 2027.
Watch above via Fox News.
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