If Attorney General William Barr is worried about being held in contempt of Congress, he didn’t show it Wednesday.

At an event outside the West Front of the Capitol honouring slain law enforcement officers, Barr approached House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who last week joked about locking up members of the Trump administration in “a jail down in the basement of the Capitol.”

According to a person who witnessed the exchange, Mr Barr shook Ms Pelosi’s hand and said loudly, “Madam Speaker, did you bring your handcuffs?”

Ms Pelosi smiled and responded that the House sergeant at arms was present should it be necessary to arrest anyone, the person said, adding that Mr Barr “chuckled and walked away.”

A Justice Department spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. 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The exchange comes amid escalating tensions between the Trump administration and Democratic lawmakers over investigations on issues including Russian election interference, the president’s financial records and his financial separation policy. Democrats have accused the Trump administration of stonewalling their requests.

Last week, the House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to hold Barr in contempt of Congress for not providing the full, un-redacted report from special counsel Robert Muller into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Nancy Pelosi: 'Jails will be overcrowded if we arrest all of Donald Trump’s officials'

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Wednesday that the House would likely vote on that citation next month. If the chamber votes in favour, then lawmakers will have to decide whether to try to compel Barr with fines, the courts or the prospect of jail time.

At a Washington Post Live event last week, Ms Pelosi joked about locking up administration officials for not complying with subpoenas – even though no jail or detention area has existed on the Capitol grounds since 1877.

“Let me just say that we do have a jail down in the basement of the Capitol,” Ms Pelosi said to laughter. “But if we were arresting all of the people in the administration, we would have an overcrowded jail situation, and I’m not for that.”