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A Play-By-Play Of The Senator's 'Frozen' Mishap
“Aw, come on, just let it go,” Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts said as he questioned Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack during a congressional hearing Thursday. While that sentiment might not be so unusual in Congress, the incident that occurred in Thursday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing on U.S. trade policy was way out of the ordinary. If you haven’t seen it plastered all over the news and Twitter, here are a couple hints: It involves a very popular Disney song and the Senator’s cell phone.
Need another couple of hints? It involves a queen who has a magical power to freeze anything around her, and a talking snowman. By now, we should probably all be on the same page. That’s right, a song from Frozen debuted in a Congressional courtroom. As if we hadn’t all heard the song enough on the radio, on the television screen, on commercials, and everywhere else in between, the film’s arguably most popular song, “Let It Go,” has even made it to Congress.
Everything starts out business as usual. Vilsack is in the midst of talking about the approach his department is taking in regards to global food security and the need for biotechnology to reduce reliance on pesticides.
Then, the camera flips to Sen. Roberts. As he looks down and reaches into his pocket he says, “Ah, come on.”
The expressions on the people sitting behind Roberts are key to check out. Everyone is trying — admittedly, kind of poorly — to stifle giggles.
Loud chuckles can be heard in the background as Robert’s fumbles to shut off his phone, which is ringing and loudly blaring the hit from 2013 Disney movie. In case you’re in need of a refresher — or an introduction — this is the song that the movie’s main character, Elsa, sings up in the mountains after she leaves her kingdom when her magical abilities are discovered.
When Roberts finally manages to silence his Frozen ringtone, he manages to sneak in at least one point for himself when he cracks a joke. “Just let it go, mister,” Roberts said to Vilsack.
Then, he apologizes for the incident while the laughter starts to die down in the courtroom, but it is just getting started on the Internet.
Funny as Roberts’ ringtone may be, his reason for having that ringtone is actually pretty dang adorable. According to Roberts’ spokeswoman Sarah Little, the 78-year-old senator uses that ringtone for his grandkids. Sometimes, he switches out “Let It Go” for Johnny Cash’s “Walk the Line.”
And though Roberts’ may have turned red in the hearing, he took the issue in stride. In fact, he even turned his embarrassment into a one-liner about Obama. Soon after the incident went viral everywhere from political blogs to entertainment websites, Roberts posted this on Twitter:
But even if Roberts lets it go, there’s likely not much of a chance the Internet will be anytime soon. Because, come on, how often do you get to hear a Disney classic blaring during the middle of a congressional hearing?
