So this is rich: Rep. Kat Cammack (R-CO) had randomly accused Democrats on Wednesday of being drunk on the House Floor amid the chaos over the Speaker vote. “They want us to fight each other. That much has been made clear by the popcorn and blankets and alcohol that has come in over there,” Cammack said.
And while the Democrats were indeed trolling Republicans with popcorn, it seems now that there may have been a fair amount of drinking on Cammack’s own side—which devolved into a physical fight on the House Floor after the 14th failed vote for speaker.
To recap: Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally, narrowly won the 15th vote late Friday night by caving to far-right insurrectionists in his party—on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection. The vote followed four days of in-fighting and general humilation in which Republicans called each other narcissists and losers, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) called McCarthy an “alligator” (swamp joke) and the “LeBron James of special interest fundraising,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) suggested Gaetz was on drugs, McCarthy cussed at everyone, and Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) admitted his party will get “pummeled” in 2024 if they keep acting like this. The final night of voting ended with Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL)—a McCarthy ally—literally lunging at Gaetz over his outspoken opposition to McCarthy and having to be restrained.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), who found himself in the middle of the altercation, had some choice words for Rogers after the vote in an interview with CNN’s Kate Sullivan. “People shouldn’t be drinking, especially when you’re a redneck, on the House floor,” Burchett said. Ope!
“I would drop him like a bag of dirt,” Burchett continued, referring to Rogers. “Nobody’s gonna put their hands on me. Nobody’s gonna threaten me.”
When reporters later asked McCarthy what happened during the heated incident, he hilariously said, “Oh, nothing.”
Ladies and gentlemen: your 118th Congress.