Representative Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) was allegedly assaulted by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) during an interview with NPR reporter Claudia Griseles. Burchett decided to not press charges against McCarthy, but the fallout from the incident may not be over yet.
In response to the breach of decorum, Representative Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) filed an ethics complaint against McCarthy, citing the first rule of the Code of Official Conduct: “A Member … shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.” Gaetz stated, “There is substantial evidence that Rep. McCarthy breached this duty.”
The ethics complaint requests that the House Committee on Ethics “proceed immediately with an investigation into the facts of today’s incident, including interviewing under oath the alleged assailant and assailee, and any witnesses.”
Former Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) also spoke out against McCarthy, posting on X, “The truth is that McCarthy has a pattern of trying to intimidate others using physical force; not okay. I talk about it in my book, he did it to me twice. Sadly lying has become a pattern of his too.”
