Outrage as lawmakers fall asleep in Congress

Three lawmakers have been outed for falling asleep in Congress during an overnight hearing at Capitol Hill, sparking outrage online. Footage shows the hilarious moment Democrat Reps Debbie Dingell from Michigan and Jan Schakowsky from Illinois took a nap on Wednesday morning.

Another clip shows Republican Rep. Blake Moore from Utah being gently shaken awake by another lawmaker after he failed to respond to a question. The snooze-fest came during a marathon hearing in Washington DC as lawmakers debated Donald Trump 's 'big, beautiful' domestic policy bill.

Dingell, 71, was seen slumped in her seat completely unconscious while surrounded by three bottled drinks. Meanwhile, Schakowsky, 80, was caught snoozing in the bottom corner of a video feed showing another lawmaker speaking just inches away.

Moore, 44, failed to respond to a question and needed waking up by a nearby lawmaker, as surrounding Congressmen laughed. The mass cross-party nap prompted a flood of criticism online.

'On our tax dollar - disgraceful!' one X user raged, while others called Congress a 'complete disgrace'. 'It must be exhausting to work two days a month,' one person gibed. 'Why are we paying any of them??' another fumed. 'This is why they never get anything done,' one X user added.

The DC naptime came as several House committees pulled an all-nighter to dig into the details of what Trump has called the 'big, beautiful bill'. Proposals in the mammoth bill include tax cuts totaling $5 trillion, which would remove tax on tips, Social Security income and car loan interest.

The package also makes various controversial proposals including large reductions in Medicaid health care, food stamps and green energy strategies. Several taxpayers also compared the sleepy scene in Congress to the moment Trump, 78, appeared to fall asleep in court during his hush money trial last year.

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman told CNN that Trump struggled to stay awake and eventually dozed off as jury selection got underway in April 2024. The claim sparked a wave of hashtags on social media and was leapt on by the Biden/Harris campaign - long dogged by Trump's nickname of 'Sleepy Joe'.

But it was dismissed as '100 percent fake news' by Trump's campaign team who insisted he was the victim of a malicious media. 'This is 100% Fake News coming from 'journalists' who weren't even in the court room,' they said in a statement. The GOP bill being discussed overnight advanced through the House last month when lawmakers voted 216-214 to start working on it.

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