Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana), center, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), left, and Sen. Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) are seen at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on June 18, 2014. Photo from SCIA

A woman waiting in line for a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday had to be physically removed because she was carrying bed bugs, The Daily Caller reports.

The woman apparently was hired to wait in line for the hearing. Another person noticed the bugs, which were were "crawling all over" the woman, The Mirror column reported.

The woman was removed prior to the start of the hearing so it appears the SCIA hearing room on the sixth floor of the Senate Dirksen Office Building was not affected. However, bed bugs were found in a nearby bathroom, according to the column.

"We’ve been on high alert all day for the damned creatures,” a Senate aide told The Mirror. “People are pretty much on lockdown, scared to leave their offices.”

Lobbyists sometimes hire people to wait in line for certain hearings that draw large crowds. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana), the chairman of the committee, noted the big turnout yesterday.

"Since I became chair earlier this year, this committee has has held numerous hearings on education, health, energy, economic development, trust [and] natural resources," Tester said. "I wish we had the kind of crowd we have here today at those hearings."

The hearing lasted about 2 hours and 5 minutes. Audio can be found on the Indianz.Com SoundCloud.

Get the Story:
The Mirror: Senate Undergoes Emergency Cleaning After Woman Drags In Bedbugs (The Daily Caller 7/23)

Committee Notice:
Oversight Hearing on "Indian Gaming: The Next 25 Years" (July 23, 2014)

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Audio: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing on gaming (7/23)