File this one under “tone deaf”.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress are scrambling to reach a debt ceiling agreement before the deadline just a few days from now, and President Barack Obama hasn’t been restrained in criticizing them for not focusing on the important things.

But what’s the White House doing today? Pranking Twitter users, apparently.

In response to a Tweet about about today’s White House press briefing, whoever runs the White House’s official Twitter account posted:

@wiggsd Sorry to hear that. Fiscal policy is important, but can be dry sometimes. Here’s something more fun: tinyurl.com/y8ufsnp #WHChat.

The link goes to a video of Rick Astley singing “Never Gonna Give You Up”. It’s a well-known internet prank. Pranksters link to the video under the auspices of the destination being something else. The concept has been around for years.

All communications to the White House account fall under the Presidential Records Act, meaning they’re documented and saved. The White House apparently thinks proper usage of the account involves pranking users as the debt deadline approaches.