Rep. Tim Burchett said colleague Rep. Mike Rogers is a 'redneck' who 'shouldn't be drinking' following House floor brawl
GOP Rep. Tim Burchett called Rep. Mike Rogers a "redneck" after he lunged at Rep. Matt Gaetz on the House floor.
Burchett suggested that Rogers had been drinking prior to the brawl, but did not provide evidence.
Burchett went on to say that his colleague "shouldn't have crossed that line."
Republican Rep. Tim Burchett called his colleague Rep. Mike Rogers a "redneck" and suggested that he had been drinking before he got into a brawl on the House floor late on Friday.
C-SPAN cameras captured Rep. Rogers of Alabama lunging at Rep. Matt Gaetz and being restrained by Rep. Richard Hudson, after Gaetz had what appeared to be a tense exchange with Kevin McCarthy.
—philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 7, 2023
"People shouldn't be drinking, especially when you're a redneck, on the House floor," Rep. Burchett told CNN's Kate Sullivan about the incident.
He did not provide evidence or elaborate on why he believed Rogers had been drinking prior to the incident.
"I would drop him like a bag of dirt," Burchett said about Rogers. "Nobody's gonna put their hands on me. Nobody's gonna threaten me."
Burchett went on to say that it was an "unfortunate moment" and that Rogers "shouldn't have crossed that line."
Rogers, a McCarthy supporter, confronted Gaetz after his vote helped sink McCarthy's 14th effort to be elected speaker. He was eventually elected during the 15th round of voting.
Representatives for Burchett and Rogers did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
Burchett later wrote a tweet that said Rogers had not been drinking on the floor of the House.
—Tim Burchett (@timburchett) January 10, 2023
January 12: This story has been updated to reflect further comments by Republican Rep. Tim Burchett.
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