Rep. Tim Burchett: McCarthy Hit Me With “a Clean Shot to the Kidneys.”

It is safe to say that ousted Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is a polarizing figure. The latest from Rep. Tim Burchett is not going to enhance his reputation.

In fact, quite the opposite is true. If Burchett’s tale is accurate (and it appears to be based on other reports), then McCarthy is at best a very sore loser and at worst, potentially guilty of assaulting another Congressman.

According to Burchett — who voted for McCarthy’s ouster as Speaker — he was giving an interview to NPR reporter Claudia Grisales when McCarthy and his security entourage approached him from behind and the ousted speaker hit him in the kidneys from the back.

“I was doing an interview with Claudia from NPR,” Burchett recalled to CNN’s Manu Raju, “and I got elbowed in the back and it kind of caught me off-guard because it was a clean shot to the kidneys and I turned back and there was Kevin….”

In her description of the incident posted to X, NPR’s Grisales confirmed the attack on Burchett and said: “Have NEVER seen this on Capitol Hill.”