Ben Sasse 'dumped' Dr. Pepper on Ted Cruz during Sessions hearing

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Sasse at Sessions hearing: I dumped a Dr. Pepper on Ted Cruz

Nebraska Senator apologizes for adding to drama of Judiciary Committee hearing for dumping soft drink on Texas Senator.

While sparks were flying during Attorney General Jeff Sessions' Senate testimony, soda was spilling.

In a sorely needed moment of comic relief during Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with Sessions, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., followed up a heated exchange by declaring he had "dumped a Dr. Pepper" on Sen. Ted Cruz.

The admission came right after Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Sessions clashed over Franken's Russia-related allegations.

“There was some drama there,” Sasse noted, in an awkward moment, before transitioning to the soda situation. “Sorry to have added to the drama and distracted you for a minute. I was paying enough attention there that I dumped a Dr. Pepper on Senator Cruz. So, that’s what was—uh—distracting us on this side of the dais.”

Nervous laughter filled the hearing room.

As the hearing dragged on, the Dr. Pepper controversy continued to bubble up on social media, with Cruz taking punitive measures against Sasse.

“MEMO TO OFFICE: Please place a picture of @BenSasse above the @drpepper fridge in our lobby. He is now cut off,” Cruz tweeted, along with a photo of a fully stocked fridge of Dr. Pepper and Diet Dr. Pepper.

A Cruz spokeswoman told Fox News that because Dr. Pepper is a Texas-based product, they have a refrigerator filled with the brand in their lobby.

Sasse later seemed to reference a conspiracy theory about Cruz's dad that then-candidate Donald Trump revived during the 2016 Republican primaries.

"i was wearing my 'Lee Harvey Oswald Was Framed' t-shirt," Sasse replied to one Twitter user.

In response, Cruz tweeted a reference to another conspiracy theory that he is actually the zodiac killer.

Asked on Twitter if the spill was an accident, Sasse replied, "No comment."