During a Wednesday hearing of the House Oversight Committee that ostensibly dealt with supposed overreach in regulations imposed by the federal government, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) started essentially yelling at a law professor from NYU (Sally Katzen) who appeared as a witness for the Democrats.
Boebert alleged that circumstances are seen “all the time” in federal agencies where those imposing a regulatory agenda are stepping outside the boundaries of the powers ordinarily provided to these figures by Congressional decisions. She subsequently raised the specific example of regulatory pushes from the Biden administration against pieces of equipment known as pistol braces, which are generally understood to significantly increase the capabilities of the firearms to which they’re attached.
“With respect, I was trying to answer your question before you interrupted me to say that the ATF had in each of these instances sufficient statutory authority from Congress,” Katzen said. Unsurprisingly, Boebert — talking very fast — interrupted her again. The Congresswoman argued that Congress never provided authorization for the federal agency known as the ATF to restrict pistol braces, but it is not a difficult concept to grasp that federal regulators could have the authority to make their own specific decisions while abiding by broader frameworks established in law. “Congress is not specific,” Katzen tried to explain.
“Oh, I’m sorry — so you are not interested in my views?” the clearly frustrated professor said after Boebert just kept interrupting. Unfortunately, that’s probably an extremely fair assessment. If you watch Republicans like Boebert during committee proceedings, they seem far more inclined towards just endlessly ranting, sometimes failing to even reasonably acknowledge the basic substance of what the witness just said right in front of them. Boebert actually left the room after her pathetic performance, which also involved complaints about federal attempts to regulate waterways and a bizarre jab at the alleged value of Katzen’s personal home, which obviously wasn’t actually relevant. It’s even weirder since Katzen isn’t even in charge of any of what underlined Boebert’s rage! She’s just an expert.
See a relevant portion below:
Katzen: I was trying to answer your question before you interrupted me to say that the ATF had in each of these instances sufficient statutory authority
Boebert: It is my time… pic.twitter.com/XelwwjCCR7— Acyn (@Acyn) June 14, 2023
