At a Thursday hearing of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Clawson talked how much he admired the witnesses’ country.

"I love your country, and I understand the complications of so many languages, and so many cultures and so many histories all rolled up into one,” the Florida Republican said. Video of the exchange can be seen on the committee’s website, at about 1 hour and 36 minutes, and again at 2 hours and 17 minutes.

It was clear Clawson didn’t realize he was speaking to Nisha Biswal and Arun Kumar, two high-level officials at the State Department and Commerce Department, respectively.

It got worse.

“Just as your capital is welcome here to produce good-paying jobs in the U.S., I’d like our capital to be welcome there,” he said at a later point in the hearing. “I ask cooperation and commitment and priority from your government in so doing. Can I have that?”

There was a pause.

As Kumar sat with a big grin, Biswal politely responded: “I, I, I think your question is to the Indian government, and we certainly share your sentiments and we certainly will advocate that on behalf of the U.S. government.”