Republican Senator Freaks Out After Washington Post Reporter Says He Had 'The Worst Week In Washington'

AP

Sen. Ron Johnson — the Republican who engaged in a tense exchange with Hillary Clinton during Benghazi testimony earlier this week — took the unusual step of blasting Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza for saying he had the "Worst Week in Washington."

Here's Johnson's full statement:

"The Washington Post — the poster child of Washington status quo — said I had the 'Worst Week in Washington.' Benghazi was a failure of leadership by Secretary Clinton: before, during and after the terrorist attack. I dared to actually demand that Secretary Clinton explain why she refused to debrief her own staff and then provide truthful information to the American people. In Washington, demanding the truth is apparently a sin. Every week that Washington leadership continues to sweep its dirt under the carpet, ignore America’s economic plight and turn a blind eye to its own out of control spending is a bad week for me, the people of Wisconsin and every American."

Cillizza didn't exactly give him the label because of his exchange with Clinton, however. He bestowed the title on Johnson after he later said Clinton got emotional on purpose and engaged in "theatrics."

Here's an excerpt from Cillizza's piece:

Oh no, he didn’t! It’s one thing to disagree about whether the gen­esis of the Benghazi attack is critical to understanding how to prevent future assaults. It’s another entirely to insinuate that Clinton cried on command, faking tears to avoid facing the music.

For his part, Cillizza enjoyed the back-and-forth:

Sen Ron Johnson to Fix: No, you had the Worst Week in Washington. Love it!

— The Fix (@TheFix) January 25, 2013