[ad_1]
Advertisement
OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) could face some discipline from the GOP-controlled chamber following an alleged ‘shoving’ incident involving another Republican lawmaker on Tuesday.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) claimed that McCarthy delivered a “cheap shot” shove to his back when he was giving an interview to an NPR reporter in a Capitol Building hallway, a claim that the California Republican has since denied.
Despite that denial, however, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who along with Burchett and six other Republicans voted with all Democrats in late December to oust McCarthy from the Speaker’s chair, said late Tuesday he is filing an ethics complaint over the incident.
“Gaetz wrote a letter to House Ethics Chair Michael Guest (R-Fla.) and Ranking Member Susan Wild (D-Pa.) on Tuesday arguing that the altercation, which involved McCarthy allegedly elbowing Burchett in the back, ‘deserves immediate and swift investigation by the Ethics Committee,’” Axios reported.
Burchett claimed that McCarthy “sucker punched” him “in a shot to the kidney.”
“This Congress has seen a substantial increase in breaches of decorum, unlike anything we have seen since the pre-Civil War era,” Gaetz said. “I myself have been a victim of outrageous conduct on the House floor as well, but nothing like an open and public assault on a Member, committed by another Member. The rot starts at the top.”
Advertisement
He added, “While Rep. Burchett is within his rights to decline to press charges against Rep. McCarthy, your Committee does have a duty to investigate breaches of the binding Code of Official Conduct.”
“You don’t expect that sort of thing from an adult, certainly not one who was once third in line for the White House,” Burchett later said to Fox News, adding he believes the push was “deliberate.”
“I’ll take a polygraph test. And have Kevin take a polygraph test,” he said. “It was deliberate. It was just a cheap shot by a bully.”
He went on to say he didn’t plan to take any further action against McCarthy, adding ominously, “He’s going to be out by Christmas.”
According to Fox News, “The alleged physical altercation occurred while Burchett was speaking with NPR correspondent Claudia Grisales, who described the incident in a thread on X.”
“Kevin McCarthy walked by, and he elbowed me in the kidneys,” Burchett said of the incident, which allegedly took place in a Capitol hallway.
“There’s 435 congressmen. I was one of the eight that voted against him. That hallway, there’s plenty of room. You can walk forward side by side, he chose to do what he did,” Burchett said. “I feel sorry for him, and I pray for him every day. You might not believe that, but I do, and I hope he finds some happiness in his life.”
After several Republicans failed to win enough support following weeks without a Speaker, the chamber finally elected Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson to the post in late October.
Johnson was able to rally the GOP behind him as their consensus candidate, but he still has a lot of work to do, including passing legislation to keep the government open, before he can take office.
The final tally on the House floor was 220 to 209 in favor of Johnson, with no Republicans voting no.
“We had votes for Mike Johnson across the board,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the ringleader in the drive to oust McCarthy.
Advertisement
“From some of the most conservative members to some of our frontliners, there was enthusiastic support,” Gaetz added, according to Politico.
Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) added: “Mike Johnson is a humble man who inspires us to work together.”
“Our first priority is to get the government funded,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Fox News after he was elected. “Our team is ready and working like a well-oiled machine.”
