Influence Alley

Chris Frates On Power, People And Influence From Capitol Hill To K Street

House GOP Fights Reid Rumor With Hashtag

By Shane Goldmacher // December 11, 2012 | 4:34 p.m.
Updated: December 11, 2012 | 5:00 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., whispers to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, during a photo opportunity in the House Speaker's office before a meeting on the debt limit increase on Capitol Hill in Washington in 2011. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid floated a juicy little rumor Tuesday that there is trouble afoot among the House GOP leadership.

Reid, though a member of the opposing party and in the opposite chamber, said he’d heard about “trouble” between Speaker John Boehner, former GOP vice presidential hopeful Rep. Paul Ryan, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (whose name he briefly forgot).

Communicators for the GOP leadership team weren’t treating the talk too seriously, taking to Twitter with the hashtag #HarryReidRumors to spout other untruths Reid could have said instead.

“Brad and Jenn are back together! (Angie’s so pissed),” wrote Erica Elliott, a McCarthy spokeswoman. “The Yankees have traded Derek Jeter,” wrote Rory Cooper, Cantor’s spokesman.