A screengrab from a video posted by Republicans on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee shows Democrats leaving a committee session last week. Towns locks Republicans out, literally

Government Reform Chairman Ed Towns has figured out a novel way to lock Republicans out in a bitter dispute over a committee hearing.

He’s locking them out. Literally.


Towns (D-N.Y.) is seething mad that the top Republican on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) tried to force a subpoena vote in the committee regarding a Countrwide Financial investigation, without Towns’ consent. Towns got even angrier when Republicans posted a video of Democrats slipping out the side door to avoid that vote last week. That left leave Republicans without the proper committee quorum, but the video did give the GOP fodder to portray Democrats as avoiding a tough vote on documents related Countrywide, which offered VIP mortgages to Democratic Sens. Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad.

Asked why the Democrats changed the locks on committee doors, Towns fessed up.

“Because they [Republicans] don’t know how to behave,” Towns said in a statement to POLITICO.

And was this retaliation for posting a video of Democrats scooting out the side door?

“Yes,” Towns added.

Issa, who has fashioned himself as a good-government agitator on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, seems both amused and annoyed by Towns’ antics.

“It's not surprising that they would choose to retaliate given the embarrassment we caused by catching them in a lie on tape,” said Issa spokesman Kurt Bardella. “If only they would use their creative energy to do some actual oversight rather than resorting to immature tactics, but I guess we're getting some insight into what lengths they'll go to avoid addressing the Countrywide VIP issue.”