That Escalated Quickly: Maxine Waters Interrupts Robinhood CEO in GameStop Hearing — During His Opening Remarks

Thursday’s hearing of the House Financial Services Committee kicked off with flare as its chair, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) interrupted Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev to ask that he “limited” time to “speak directly.”

Tenev used the first 30 seconds of his opening remarks to describe his background, prompting Waters to interject. “Mr. Tenev, I would like you to use your limited time to talk directly to what happened on January 28, and your involvement in it,” she  demanded.

The committee’s ranking member, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), attempted to intervene, saying, “Madam chair, the witness has the opportunity to give their own testimony.”

“Excuse me, you are not recognized,” Waters replied, before allowing Tenev to continue. He proceeded with his description of his background, telling the committee that he had been born in Bulgaria.

The hearing centered on trading in January that caused stock prices to surge for companies including GameStop and AMC Theaters. The increase was caused mostly by retail investors using Robinhood, but the company briefly prohibited users from purchasing the affected stocks, an issue that Tenev attributed to regulatory requirements requiring the company to hold greater capital during period of volatility.

Watch above via the House Financial Services Committee.

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