WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) responded to a reporter's question on Tuesday with a comment that nobody was expecting: "That's a clown question, bro."

To reporters' amusement, Reid made the remark in response to a question by Roll Call's Steve Dennis about whether he plans to bring the Dream Act to the floor in an effort to get Republicans on record on the immigration issue. Reid paused for several seconds before responding, and even chuckled briefly to himself.

"I don't want to answer that question," Reid finally said. "That's a clown question, bro."

Reid was referencing a comment last week by Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper that went viral on Twitter. The 19-year-old baseball star, a Las Vegas native, made the remark when asked by a sports reporter what kind of beer he planned to drink to celebrate his home run in a game with the Blue Jays. Harper is Mormon and therefore not allowed to drink.

Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson told The Huffington Post afterward that he didn't even have to try to convince the Nevada senator to drop the clown line.

Jentleson said he spent "literally zero minutes" trying to persuade Reid to make the comment. "He’s a huge fan."

Reid later tweeted that Harper is "a great Nevadan" and provided a link to a video clip of himself making the clown remark.

Clarification: This post has been updated to clarify that Reid was referring to Harper when he tweeted about a "great Nevadan."