Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, sought on Wednesday at a congressional hearing to understand whether or not the U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management can shift the moon's orbit.
The question posed by Gohmert was thereafter quickly mocked by Twitter users, which made it a trending topic on the platform throughout the day.
"I understand from what's been testified to, the Forest Service and BLM [Bureau of Land Management], you want very much to work on climate change," Gohmert stated while questioning Forest Service Supervisor Jennifer Eberlien at the virtual hearing. "I was informed by the past director of NASA that they have found that the moon's orbit is changing slightly, and so is the Earth's orbit around the sun, and we know there's been significant solar flare activity."
ORBITS: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) asks whether the Forest Service or the BLM can alter the orbit of the moon or the Earth in order to fight climate change during a House Natural Resources hearing pic.twitter.com/yYiOyi2cMZ
— Forbes (@Forbes) June 8, 2021
"And so is there anything the National Forest Service or BLM can do to change the course of the moon's orbit or the Earth's orbit around the sun?" the congressman proceeded to ask. "Obviously, they would have profound effects on our climate."
Eberlien responded, "I would have to follow up with you on that one, Mr. Gohmert!"
In a slick Twitter response to Gohmert's question of the Forest supervisor, Democratic California representative Ted Lieu replied, "I know the answer to the question by Rep. Louie Gohmert. Captain Marvel. She can alter planetary orbits with her superpowers. I'm going to work on a bipartisan resolution asking for her help."
This isn't the first time Gohmert has been the subject of ridicule. At the end of May, the lawmaker said while speaking on the House floor that his Standardized Test score would likely "shock everyone that thinks he's the dumbest guy in Congress."
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