Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon WhitehouseLWCF modernization: Restoring the promise Restaurant owner defends calamari as 'bipartisan' after Democratic convention appearance Warren calls on McConnell to bring Senate back to address Postal Service MORE (D-R.I.) on Thursday panned Sen. James Inhofe James (Jim) Mountain InhofeChamber of Commerce endorses McSally for reelection Overnight Defense: Top admiral says 'no condition' where US should conduct nuclear test 'at this time' | Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings Top admiral: 'No condition' where US should conduct nuclear test 'at this time' MORE’s (R-Okla.) use of a snowball during a speech on climate change.

Whitehouse used his iPad to argue that a polar vortex was bringing cold air down to Washington in part because of warmer ocean temperatures.

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He said that you could either believe “every major American scientific society,” the Navy, NASA, and Pope Francis that climate change is real or “you can believe the senator with the snowball.”

“You can believe NASA and you can believe what their satellites measure on the planet or you can believe the senator with the snowball. The United States Navy takes this very seriously... You can either believe the United States Navy or you can believe the senator with the snowball,” the Rhode Island Democrat said in a speech from the Senate floor.

Inhofe threw the snowball as part of an effort to dismiss climate change. The Oklahoma Republican said the snowball was from outside in Washington, using cold weather to argue against claims that greenhouse gases are behind an increase in the earth’s temperature.

“It’s a snowball. And it’s just from outside here. So it’s very, very cold out. Very unseasonable,” Inhofe said.

Whitehouse suggested that most Americans likely believed in man-made climate change.