'I'm Gonna Kick the S*** Out of You': McCarthy Allegedly Got in the Face of Top Dem After Big Vote
A recent report has alleged that Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell and Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy indulged in a bit of trash-talking on the House floor last month.
The war of words began on June 21, according to the Daily Beast, as McCarthy was trying to announce that the House had voted to censure Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff.
Democratic heckling and noise-making interrupted McCarthy.
“This is pathetic,” Swalwell said, according to the Daily Beast. “You’re weak. You’re a weak man.”
In the following C-SPAN video of the proceedings, the word “weak” comes through clearly at 3:49. The rest of whatever Swalwell said is lost to posterity.
U.S. House censures Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).
House Democrats chant “shame” and interrupt the pronouncement of censure. @SpeakerMcCarthy: “I have all night.” pic.twitter.com/VZTUVnkBBt
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 21, 2023
The Daily Beast reported that it got the full quote from two lawmakers whose names it did not provide.
McCarthy “had a vein popping out of his forehead,” one lawmaker said, while another said the speaker glared at Swalwell for about 10 seconds.
McCarthy apparently had not cooled off the next day when he encountered Swalwell on the House floor.
He allegedly said, “If you ever say something like that to me again, I’m gonna kick the s*** out of you.”
“They were in each other’s faces. Basically nose to nose. And Swalwell said something like, ‘Are we really gonna do this?’” another unnamed lawmaker said, according to the Daily Beast.
“Call me a p***y again, and I’ll kick you’re a**,” McCarthy is alleged to have said.
Swalwell then replied, “You are a p***y,” according to the witness accounts.
“When reached by phone, Swalwell said he would not discuss the story with the press, but he also did not deny the account. McCarthy’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment,” the Daily Beast reported.
In January, McCarthy removed Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee.
The roots of that action go back to December 2020, when reports emerged that Swalwell had been so close to a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy that he was given an FBI briefing to warn him away.
Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang, had been a prominent fundraiser for Swalwell’s 2014 congressional campaign and reportedly placed an intern in his office.
Fang had cultivated sexual relationships with a number of politicians, according to Axios, including with two unnamed Midwestern mayors.
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