‘Never Seen Someone Look So Patently Foolish’: MAGA Senator Left Stammering On Air as CNN Host Reminds Him That Trump Screwed His State
Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana was left speechless during a CNN interview last Tuesday night after being reminded that recent energy funding cuts hurting his state were not tied to the ongoing government shutdown — but instead came directly from President Donald Trump’s rollback of Biden-era subsidies.
Appearing on CNN’s “The Source,” Sheehy was asked by host Kaitlan Collins about the Department of Energy’s decision earlier this month to cancel $1 billion in clean-energy funding earmarked for the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub, a multistate project that includes Montana. The project had been promoted as a major economic driver expected to bring high-paying jobs and expand hydrogen energy infrastructure in the region.
“The Department of Energy just canceled a billion dollars to the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub. Part of that covers your state of Montana, and your governor actually praised it when it was happening, saying it was going to create good-paying Montana jobs and boost American-made energy. They just yanked a billion dollars from that,” Collins told Sheehy. “So is that taking away good-paying jobs in Montana?”
“Of course it is,” Sheehy agreed before launching into partisan talking points and blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. “As I said, we want the government to be open,” Sheehy continued. “You should be saying this to Chuck Schumer, who’s closing the government down. I‘m agreeing we should have the government open right now. This is an unnecessary shutdown.”
When Collins pressed again — noting that Energy Secretary Chris Wright had confirmed to CNN in an Oct. 2 interview that the funding cuts in Montana had nothing to do with the shutdown — Sheehy appeared blindsided.
After a long, uncomfortable pause, Sheehy finally snapped out of it: “Well, it’s unfortunate we’re still shut down. We shouldn’t be.”
The exchange quickly spread across social media, where critics accused the freshman senator of dodging basic questions.
“I’ve never seen someone made to look so patently foolish without the interviewer ever suggesting this was so,” one user wrote on X.
Another critic wrote, “Speechless at the end. Well done,” applauding Collins for pressing the senator and not letting him dodge the question.
The incident drew national attention not only because of Sheehy glitching out but also because of what it revealed about the political tension between Trump’s energy policies and the economic priorities of rural states like Montana. The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub, which spans Montana, Oregon, and Washington, was one of several regional hubs announced last year as part of a broader plan to develop renewable hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, had praised the initiative when it was first approved, calling it a “tremendous opportunity to create good-paying Montana jobs.” The DOE’s decision to withdraw funding — reportedly part of a Trump administration shift away from certain green energy projects — left state officials scrambling to assess the economic fallout.
Following the CNN appearance, Sheehy’s office issued a statement to local outlets, including NBC Montana, that sought to clarify his position.
“Senator Sheehy will always champion commonsense policies that create more jobs and opportunity for hardworking Montanans and is proud to work alongside President Trump and the Montana delegation to make America energy dominant, protect Montana jobs, and unleash Montana’s resource economy,” the statement read. “Senator Sheehy will keep working to ensure the critical resources Montanans rely on are protected and is fighting to stop the Schumer Shutdown so Congress can get back to work for the American people.”
Still, the damage control did little to quiet criticism back home. Editorials in Montana newspapers called Sheehy’s CNN interview “embarrassing” and accused him of being unprepared to discuss federal funding decisions that directly affect his constituents.
One op-ed published last Friday in the Daily Montanan, described Sheehy’s performance as “uninformed,” “rude” and “evasive,” adding that when given a chance to discuss the fiscal impact of Trump’s budget cuts, “what he did instead was pull a bully act and repeatedly interrupt, talk over, and ignore Collins’ questions.”
The column also noted that Collins’ reminder — that the canceled hydrogen hub funding was not in the GOP’s short-term spending proposal — appeared to catch Sheehy completely off guard.
“Apparently Sheehy, for all his bluster and macho man attempts at dominating Collins, did not do his homework — and had no idea the project’s funding had been cancelled,” the writer added.
The same editorial pointed out that Sheehy failed to address how the Republican funding bill would affect an estimated 67,000 Montanans who could see their health insurance costs soar if federal tax credits lapse.
“While those very real impacts are the reason the bill is not moving in the Senate, all he wanted to do was bash Democrats for the shutdown,” it read.
Ironically, while Sheehy was defending Trump’s energy cuts on national television, Washington Sen. Patty Murray was holding a virtual forum with Montana state leaders, including the Montana Nurses Association and State Sen. Cora Neuman, to discuss how the GOP spending plan would affect working families. Murray said Republican senators were “dodging the issue,” arguing that “it’s time to stop the games and start protecting people’s livelihoods.”
Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and political newcomer, took office in January and has sought to align himself closely with Trump, according to HuffPost. Earlier this year, he drew attention for comparing the economic pain of Trump’s trade tariffs to a home renovation project.
“If you’re gonna remodel your house to make it better in the end,” Sheehy told Collins later in the interview, throwing red meat to Trump’s base with Republican talking points. “It’s gonna be really annoying in the short term when your house is getting remodeled and there’s drywall dust everywhere and there’s workers in your living room.”