WASHINGTON (AP) - White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says it's "pathetic" that Democrats tried to have staff attorneys question Attorney General William Barr.

Barr boycotted a House Judiciary hearing Thursday on special counsel Robert Mueller's report. Sanders told reporters at the White House after an appearance on Fox News that the decision marks "a pretty pathetic moment" for the committee's chairman, Jerry Nadler.

She says that if Nadler is "not capable of asking the attorney general questions, then maybe he should step down or resign." Barr had objected to the format of the hearing after Democrats decided to let staff attorneys conduct a round of questioning after lawmakers were done.

Lawmakers instead faced an empty chair Thursday morning, a day after Barr testified to a GOP-led Senate panel.