GOP lawmaker claims Kevin McCarthy elbowed him after meeting, sparking altercation
Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, one of the eight Republicans who
voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership last month, claimed to ABC News that McCarthy elbowed him in the back after a House GOP meeting on Tuesday morning.
McCarthy denied this, according to an NPR reporter
who said she witnessed part of the altercation.
But Burchett said he was speaking to the NPR reporter when McCarthy walked behind him and allegedly put his elbow intentionally into Burchett's back. Burchett said he was pushed forward and then followed McCarthy down the hallway to confront him.
McCarthy accused of shoving Republican who helped oust him: 'Cheap shot from behind'
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has been accused of shoving a Republican congressman who helped oust him as House speaker.
In an on-camera interview from the Capitol Hill outdoor steps after the alleged incident, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., alleged McCarthy came up and took 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 said.
Burchett told reporters that McCarthy's actions seemed "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."
“You Got No Guts”: Kevin McCarthy Reportedly Shoves GOP Lawmaker
Republican infighting is so bad that lawmakers are getting into physical altercations in the halls of Congress.
NPR reporter Claudia Grisales tweeted Tuesday that while she was talking to Representative Tim Burchett after the Republican conference meeting, Kevin McCarthy walked past. As he walked behind Burchett, McCarthy shoved the Tennessee lawmaker, forcing him to lunge forward.
The former House speaker got into a physical altercation with another member of his own party.
newrepublic.com