‘Creepy’: Democrats Weigh Ethics Complaint After GOP Senator Accessed Their Cars’ Safety Data

Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee are looking into an ethics complaint against Sen. Bernie Moreno after he admitted to looking up Democrats’ personal vehicle identification numbers to make a point during a hearing this week.

“Democrats on the committee are looking at all of their options to get to the bottom of how Senator Bernie Moreno got the VINs and what he did with that information,” a spokesperson for Sen. Jacky Rosen said in a statement.

Rosen’s efforts are “fully supported” by ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell, the spokesperson added.

The incident happened Wednesday during a Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing. Senators were in the middle of a conversation on new vehicle affordability when Moreno told the committee that he found the VINs of his colleagues’ personal vehicles to determine which senators utilize optional safety technology features in their cars.

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“Would it surprise you that I got the VIN numbers of every single one of my Democrat colleagues’ vehicles and found that none of them bought any of the additional safety technology on their cars,” Moreno, who owns a car dealership, said during Wednesday night’s hearing. He attempted to argue that government mandated safety features would cause the price of cars to spike.

A spokesperson for Moreno said that the information was “available to the general public” and dismissed the incident.

“Senator Moreno utilized information that is available to the general public to expose Democrats’ hypocrisy, and their willingness to hold Americans to a higher standard than themselves,” Moreno’s communications director, Reagan McCarthy, said in a statement to NOTUS. “It’s a shame that Democrats choose to engage in selective outrage while they allow federal workers to miss their paychecks.”

During the hearing, Rosen asked for unanimous consent for a probe into how the VINs were accessed, which was ultimately denied by Chairman Ted Cruz, a Republican.

“I object to you stalking my car and my staff to find the VIN numbers to present to this committee,” Rosen said. “You watched me, to go to see who drives me, writing down their VIN number, so you could find out what they have? That seems a little creepy.”

“Yep,” Moreno responded “Just to expose the hypocrisy.”

It is unclear what resources were utilized to find the VINs, where they are being stored and who has access to them.

A Democratic staff member told Roll Call that Democrats are concerned about whether the VINs were recorded at the senators’ private residences.