Ever since losing the House Speakership, Kevin McCarthy has been steaming mad. Now he’s done the unthinkable.
And Kevin McCarthy’s career is over after being accused of this awful crime.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has been accused of assaulting a Republican congressman who assisted in his removal as House speaker.
In an on-camera interview from the Capitol Hill outside steps following the alleged altercation, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., claimed McCarthy approached him and attempted a “cheap shot from behind.”
“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 told the audience.
McCarthy’s conduct, according to Burchett, appeared “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.”
Burchett stated that he has no plans to take further action against McCarthy, including filing a House ethics complaint, and that the former House Speaker will most certainly “cash in” after Christmas.
“I don’t think it’s OK. These ethics complaints go on for years, and he’s going to be out of here after Christmas. Like I said, he has $17 million and a security detail, and he’ll still be a bully.”
“It’s just like it’s always been. We’re not having duels out here,” Burchett said when asked what the incident might say about the state of Congress. “They’ve had duels in the past and fistfights and everything else. It’s just human nature.”
The alleged physical altercation occurred during an interview with Burchett by NPR writer Claudia Grisales, who reported the event in a post on X.
McCarthy’s office has been contacted for comment by Fox News.
Burchett recalled how, while performing an interview with Grisales in a Capitol Hill hallway, “Kevin McCarthy walked by, and he elbowed me in the kidneys.”
“There’s 435 [members of Congress]. 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.”
“It was 100% on purpose,” Burchett claimed, alleging he stumbled forward. “And what are the chances? 435 members of Congress. Eight of us voted against him…I’m one of them that did it.”
“He didn’t see any cameras. He didn’t think anybody was paying attention, but Claudia from NPR was paying attention.”
Burchett stated that he pursued McCarthy after the event.
“This ain’t no big deal,” Burchett said when asked if he was hurt.
“It’s just a little different from the way people react in Tennessee than the way they do in California. In Tennessee, if you have a problem with somebody, you take it to them and deal with it face to face. I guess in southern California, where he’s from, you take a cheap shot at somebody from behind.”
Burchett claims McCarthy has $17 million at his disposal and that the former House Speaker is “already messing in everybody’s races.”
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
