Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer draws laughter as he appears upside-down during virtual House meeting

Minnesota U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer unintentionally flipped the mood of a House committee meeting for a moment during the Twin Cities Republican's virtual drop-in.

"Will the gentleman suspend?" Rep. Maxine Waters, committee chairwoman, said Wednesday as Emmer read his comments from a remote location while his head appeared to float in front of a blue and white backdrop.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Emmer?" the California Democrat continued. "Are you OK?"

"I am," he replied.

"You're upside down, Tom," an off-camera committee member interjected.

"I don't know how to fix that," he replied amid giggling from people in the committee room.

One suggestion from the room? "You could stand on your head."

The one-liners kept coming: "At least you're not a cat." "You're going viral, Tom."

After about a minute, Emmer's head was right with the world.

"The gentleman from Minnesota will continue," Waters said.

Later in the day, Emmer took to Twitter and deadpanned, "I am not a cat," a callback to the Texas attorney who, while on his way recently to viral stardom, earnestly made that declaration while his face mistakenly appeared as a kitten during a videoconference court session.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482