Tempers can flare in the middle of a political debate. But no one ever expects it to come to blows.
But all hell broke loose when this Republican was physically assaulted on the House floor.
On Friday night, tensions were high on the House floor because Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) was trying to attack Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
This happened after the 14th failed attempt to make Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaker of the House.
After the 14th vote, McCarthy was only half a vote away from becoming speaker. Even though McCarthy got 216 votes, that wasn’t enough at the time to make him speaker.
US Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gestures towards US Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL), not pictured, in the House Chamber as voting continues for a new speaker at the US Capitol in Washington (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via @GettyImages ) pic.twitter.com/slct4J82z8
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) January 7, 2023
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Gaetz both voted “present,” and four other Republicans in the House voted for other people.
Shortly after the 14th vote that didn’t pass, McCarthy went to Gaetz’s seat near the back of the room to talk.
We don’t know what Gaetz and McCarthy talked about.
But as Gaetz pointed his finger at McCarthy, another member stepped in front of McCarthy and tried to calm things down.
After McCarthy went back to his seat, Rogers walked over to Gaetz’s seat and leaned over the three people sitting between him and Gaetz to say something to the person who was still against McCarthy.
But as Rogers leaned over to get in Gaetz’s face, another member, reportedly Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), came up behind Rogers, put his hand over Rogers’s mouth, and pulled Rogers away from the fight.
CSPAN’s cameras in Congress caught the fight for a short time:
Wild scene as Rep. Mike Rogers has to be physically restrained by another member while going after Gaetz as McCarthy tries to secure final votes pic.twitter.com/c0u2lZxgYr
— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) January 7, 2023
Several photographers also caught the fight from different points of view:
Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) walks away from Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) as an altercation with Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) breaks out during a session of the House of Representatives to elect a Speaker of the House. Jack Gruber-USA TODAY @guygruber @usatoday pic.twitter.com/iUiXbdp9RV
— Andrew P. Scott (@apscott) January 7, 2023
Rep. Hudson, R-N.C., left, pulls Rep. Rogers, R-Ala., as he confronts Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., during the 14th round of voting for speaker as the House meets for the fourth day to try and elect a speaker in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (@AP Photo/@andyharnik) pic.twitter.com/ok3K8ERtfU
— Andrew Harnik (@andyharnik) January 7, 2023
U.S. Rep.-elect Mike Rogers (R-AL) is restrained after getting into an argument with Rep.-elect Matt Gaetz (R-FL) in the House Chamber (@GettyImages | Chip Somodevilla) pic.twitter.com/2ppWZ5i1Ql
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) January 7, 2023
As the fight happened, members of the House yelled out in shock, which made McCarthy turn around and walk back towards the two members.
“Rogers immediately left for the cloak room to cool off,” according to NBC News.
After the fight, a motion to end the meeting failed, which led to a 15th vote in which McCarthy finally won the position of speaker.
Stay tuned to DC Daily Journal.
