Humorously absurd characters have been appearing in the background of congressional hearings for Trump nominees

Some unlikely protesters have been gracing the confirmation hearings of nominees for top government posts during Donald Trump’s time in office.

This week, the Senate energy and natural resources committee held a confirmation hearing for David Bernhardt, a former oil lobbyist who has been serving as the acting interior secretary since the resignation of Ryan Zinke in January. And as the committee pressed him on his lobbying record Thursday, a protester in the gallery highlighted the contradiction inherent in his nomination by dawning a swamp creature mask.

CSPAN (@cspan) Look in the background during Interior Secretary Nominee David Bernhardt's opening statement.



Watch LIVE on C-SPAN3 https://t.co/i3oegv9okf pic.twitter.com/UiiaVfV8h2

“Trump campaigned hard on the idea of ‘draining the swamp.’ As we know, he’s done the exact opposite – and Bernhardt might be the most blatant example of that,” Greenpeace tweeted, taking credit for the protest.

The sight of such a horrific swamp creature in the Senate, at least of the fantastical kind, isn’t an every day occurrence, but it’s the latest example of what has become a trend of late: satirical protest through the placement of humorously absurd characters in the background of hearings.

American Family Voices (@AFVhq) The @SecretaryRoss hearing just started. We got in! 😬 #LetThemEatCake pic.twitter.com/bx8TqtQDzx

Earlier this month a protester dressed as Marie Antoinette glanced over the shoulder of the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross. The group American Family Voices, like many others, took umbrage with comments Ross and others in the administration had made during the government shutdown that seemed to echo Antoinette’s infamous dismissal of the living conditions of average people.

Rep Elizabeth Fiedler (@RepFiedler) Is climate change “make believe” just like this unicorn in the audience? It is not. pic.twitter.com/EYU474c22x

It’s a tactic that has since migrated into state legislative hearings more recently as well. This week activists from the group the Better Path Coalition sat in on a hearing in the Pennsylvania house to protest climate-change denying state lawmakers.

“We’re myths. Climate change isn’t,” they explained.

Ian Madrigal - The Monopoly Man (@iansmadrig) When my parents ask what I'm doing with my law degree pic.twitter.com/ssWQwPca9D

Ian Madrigal, whose given name is Amanda Werner, was among the most notable to pull off such a “cause-play” stunt in October of 2017 when they appeared as the Monopoly character Rich Uncle Pennybags at a hearing in front of the Senate banking committee on the Equifax data breach and again in December of 2018 for a hearing with the Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

In April of last year they returned, this time as a “Russian troll” complete with bright blue troll wig during an appearance by the Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in front of the commerce and judiciary committees.

“I think one reason I’ve taken the approach of kind of making a spectacle of myself is to actually steal away the spotlight from these lawmakers who want to grandstand in these hearings, and then not pass any meaningful legislation,” Madrigal has said.

“So hopefully by stealing their spotlight, I’m putting more pressure on them from their constituents to actually do their jobs.”