Jeh Johnson, the secretary of the of Homeland Security, caused a firestorm on Capitol Hill when he was asked if federal authorities had contacted the family of the woman allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant – a story that's shaken the nation and gone viral among the media – and he answered with little more than a shrug of the shoulders.
Johnson professed no knowledge of the family.
Advertisement - story continues below
Specifically, he was asked during a congressional hearing if the White House or anyone in his department had contacted the family of Kate Steinle.
TRENDING: FBI conceals collusion with Twitter over election 'misinformation'
"To who?" Johnson said.
Rep. Steve Chabot replied: "To the family of the woman who was brutally murdered by this individual who had committed seven different felonies in four different states and my understanding had been deported, kept coming back, has the administration reached out to that family?"
Advertisement - story continues below
And Johnson's answer: "I'm sorry, I don't know the answer to that question, sir."
Conservative radio hosts Mark Levin and Michael Savage both expressed disbelief and outrage at Johnson's response.
Rush Limbaugh, meanwhile, said: "He doesn't know who she is. The director of Homeland Security has no idea, when he hears the name Steinle family, he doesn't know who it is."
And Bill O'Reilly, host of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," said it was "hard to believe" Johnson didn't recognize the Steinle name.