Kicking off the inaugural Congressional Deaf Caucus on Thursday, Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS) joked about the interpreter accused of being a “fake” at Nelson Mandela’s memorial services, according to the Washington Post.
“Do I need to double-check though that the sign language interpreter actually is an interpreter?” Yoder asked when he stepped up on the stage, according to the Post.
He then turned to the interpreter present at the meeting.
“Looks like she’s legit. Okay. If she starts just making stuff up let me know,” he said, drawing laughter.
Yoder and Rep. Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) are the founding co-chairs of the Deaf Caucus, and both have schools for the deaf in their districts, according to the Post.
