Cotton slams White House spokesman in sparkling water spat
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Wednesday afternoon fired back at Josh Earnest after the White House spokesman ridiculed his knowledge of nuclear issues.
Cotton, an Army veteran, tweeted at Earnest, “you’re right, I don’t know much about sparkling water. It isn’t served in Army, unlike in your ritzy West Wing.”
{mosads}Earnest was asked about Cotton’s amendment to an appropriations bill this week barring the U.S. from using federal funds to buy heavy water — which can be used for nuclear reactors — from Iran.
Earnest accused Cotton of trying to undermine the international deal over Iran’s nuclear program, saying the White House was “gratified” his legislation hadn’t advanced in the Senate.
“Sen. Cotton is certainty no expert when it comes to heavy water. I’m confident that he couldn’t differentiate heavy water from sparkling water,” Earnest quipped during the daily briefing.
The Energy Department announced last week that it would spend about roughly $8.6 million to purchase 32 tons of heavy water, raising questions among Republicans critical of the deal.
Earnest said Wednesday that the measure wouldn’t advance out of Congress, noting that Senate Democrats refused to end debate on the broader legislation because of the amendment.