Citing Tom Hank’s character Forrest Gump, House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa asked MIT’s Jonathan Gruber if he was stupid during a contentious House committee hearing on Tuesday.
“Are you stupid?” Issa asked.
“I don’t think so. No,” Gruber replied.
“Does M.I.T. employ stupid people?” Issa asked.
“Not to my knowledge,” Gruber replied.
Issa was referring to earlier comments made by Rep. Elijah Cummings — accusing Gruber of saying “some really stupid things” about the legislative process to pass Obamacare.
“As far as I can tell we are here today to beat up on Jonathan Gruber for stupid, I mean absolutely stupid comments he made over the past few years,” Cummings said, criticizing the political nature of the hearing.
“Let me be clear, I’m extremely frustrated with Dr. Gruber’s statements,” Cummings added. “They were irresponsible, incredibly disrespectful, and did not reflect reality and they were, indeed, insulting.”