Darrell Issa Rides Out of Congress Waving a Jonathan Gruber Subpoena
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) questions Massachusetts Institute of Technology Economics professor Jonathan Gruber about his work on the Affordable Care Act during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office building on Capitol Hill December 9, 2014 in Washington, DC.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesAnyone who watched (or endured) this week's House Oversight grilling of Jonathan Gruber saw Republicans become obsessed with one particular micro-scandal. Gruber, quite famously, had been paid around $400,000 by the Obama administration (or, as Republicans put it, by the American Taxpayers Whom He Called Stupid) for his consulting and health care modeling. Less famously, and as explored fitfully by conservative media, Gruber had been paid more by states. As the #Grubergate headlines grew in size, the state of Vermont got skittish about the work its favorite MIT professor was doing on the coming single payer health care plan.
Republicans, at the congressional hearing, demanded that Gruber tell them how much money he'd made. Taking a dive, Gruber repeatedly refused to confirm their numbers ("Was it $2.5 million or $2.8 million?" asked Michigan Representative Kerry Bentivolio) and directed questions to his counsel. After the hearing, NBC News reporter Kelly O'Donnell followed Gruber (on camera) and kept asking about the total payments as the witness stared blankly ahead.