In a fun bit of drama on the Senate floor today, Sen. Al Franken cut off Sen. Joe Lieberman during a speech, angering Lieberman’s good friend Sen. John McCain.
Here’s what happened; Lieberman was giving a ten-minute speech on health care reform. Franken, who was presiding over the Senate, cut him off when his ten minutes were up. When Lieberman requested unanimous consent for an extra few minutes to finish his speech, Franken, in his capacity as a senator from Minnesota, objected. And, in his capacity as presiding officer, Franken honored the objection.
After a brief moment of tension, Lieberman laughed and said he didn’t take it personally, and requested that the rest of his speech be put in the record.
Then McCain took the floor to defend his friend, saying he’d never seen anything like it.
Watch:
Late update: Eric Kleefeld reminds us of that time Lieberman defended Norm Coleman, Franken’s opponent in his senatorial race and the ensuing months-long recount debacle.
Late late update: Franken spokeswoman Jess McIntosh calls to clarify: Leadership today asked all the presiding officers to keep floor speeches — from Democrats, Republicans and, yes, Independents — within their time limits. McIntosh adds that Franken supports the provisions Lieberman was discussing.
