‘We’re not sending our best’: Republican ridiculed for asking whether US forest service can change Earth’s rotation

Louie Gohmert is just asking questions.

Questions such as, could the US government possibly, maybe alter the Earth’s orbit around the sun? Wait, what?

Let’s back up a moment. The eyebrow-raising question came during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on Tuesday. The Texas Republican congressman pointed to the United States Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) working to combat the climate crisis before asking about a rather novel way to address the warming planet, something he has argued in the past is actually a good thing.

“Is there anything that 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?” Mr Gohmert asked, adding: “Obviously that would have profound effects on our climate.”

It’s unclear what impact, exactly, Mr Gohmert was referring to. His question stumped Jennifer Eberlein, the associate deputy chief of the Forest Service, whom Mr Gohmert directed his question to.

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“I would have to follow up with you on that one, Mr Gohmert,” she said with a smile, after a long pause.

Mr Gohmert didn’t skip a beat. “Well if you figure out a way that you in the Forest Service can make that change, I’d like to know,” he said.

It wasn’t the first time Mr Gohmert, a longtime climate denier and troll on the issue, turned his focus to the moon. Last month, the congressman appeared on Fox News, where he made a similar comment about the Earth and moon and argued against the need to combat global warming.

Twitter users were quick to pile on Mr Gohmert over his latest galactic gaffe: