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WASHINGTON - A routine Senate nomination hearing erupted into a confrontation Wednesday when U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno revealed he had obtained the vehicle identification numbers of his Democratic colleagues’ cars, prompting Nevada Democrat Jacky Rosen to accuse him of violating their privacy. “That seems a little creepy,” said Rosen. The Westlake Republican also used the hearing to press a transportation department nominee to visit Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport, which city officials would like to redevelop. The clash between Moreno and Rosen occurred during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing, after Moreno claimed he had collected vehicle identification numbers -- commonly referred to as VINs -- which are assigned by the manufacturers and unique to each vehicle. Moreno said he collected the VINs to examine whether Democrats purchased optional safety features on their own vehicles while supporting mandates requiring such technologies in all cars. “Would it surprise you that I got the VIN numbers of every one of my Democrat colleagues’ vehicles and found that none of them bought any of the additional safety technologies on their cars,” Moreno said, blaming the protective measures for a steep rise in car prices. Rosen objected sharply to the disclosure, requesting unanimous consent to compel Moreno to explain how he obtained the information. “I’d like to ask for Senator Moreno to submit to the committee how he obtained our personal VIN numbers, what he plans to do with them. (It) appears to be a clear overreach and violation of our privacy,” Rosen said. Moreno defended his actions, saying “the numbers are displayed on the windshield of the car.” But Rosen pressed further, noting she does not drive a personal vehicle in Washington and that he’d have to go to her garage in Las Vegas to find the number. When she said staffers drive her in Washington, Moreno replied: “So, you’re not concerned about your staff safety?” “I object to you stalking my car and my staff to find the VIN numbers to present to this committee,” said Rosen. “What are you going to do with them? It’s an invasion of our privacy.” Moreno said he obtained the VIN numbers to “expose the hypocrisy” of Democrats, adding criticism that Senate Democrats including Rosen repeatedly voted against a GOP measure to fund the government. “What do you say to the staff?” he continued, alluding to federal employees who aren’t being paid during the impasse. “What do you say to the TSA workers? What do you say the air traffic controllers?” Rosen said she’s donating her paycheck. She called it a “Republican shutdown,” since Moreno’s party controls the White House and both branches of Congress. “Instead of going to a Mar-a-Lago to eat at a gold-plated dinner while people are starving, you might see and hear your constituents, sir,” Rosen said, referring to a Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party that President Donald Trump threw in Florida as SNAP benefits were about to expire. “I find it ironic that my Democrat colleagues will go to lobbyist dinners tonight, which they get fed steak, while ... their own constituents in their own states, will not know where to get money to buy their groceries, or, in a case of SNAP recipients, not be able to buy basic goods,” Moreno said later in the hearing. Moreno also asked Daniel Edwards, who has been nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs, if he’d be willing to visit Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport to discuss the city’s plan to the shut down the airport and redevelop it. Edwards said that “when the time’s appropriate and the appropriate plans are made,” he’d be “happy to support the effort.”
