Ted Cruz calls John Boehner a drunk after former GOP speaker dubs Texan Senator a jerk

Ted Cruz and his former GOP colleague John Boehner in the latest round of a public spat, after the ex-House Speaker called the Texas senator a jerk.

"The Swamp is unhappy. I wear with pride his drunken, bloviated scorn," Mr Cruz said.

Mr Boehner, a noted wine connoisseur, threw the first stone during the publicity tour of his new memoir, On the House, saying that Mr Cruz was a false prophet he'd maybe like to beat up.

"I don't beat anybody up, It's not really my style, except that jerk," Mr Boehner said of Mr Cruz.

"Perfect symbol, you know, of getting elected, make a lot of noise, draw a lot of attention to yourself, raise a lot of money, which means you're going to go make more noise, raise more money, and it's really unfortunate."

After referencing a rumoured penchant for a tipple, Mr Cruz added "please don't cry", referring to Mr Boehner's proclivity to show public outpourings of emotion during his time in office.

Mr Boehner has been enjoying his retirement from the Republican party while writing his memoir, tweeting out a picture with a glass of wine after Axios reported him telling Mr Cruz to "go f*** yourself" during the audiobook recording.

On the cover of his book, Mr Boehner writes about Mr Cruz: “There is nothing more dangerous than a reckless a**hole who thinks he is smarter than everyone else.”

"Poured myself a glass of something nice to read my audiobook. You can blame the wine for the expletives,” Mr Boehner said in the tweet.

Mr Cruz's jab echoes that of Donald Trump after Mr Boehner said the ex-president "incited that bloody insurrection" at the US Capitol on 6 January.

"Was he drinking when he made this statement?" Mr Trump asked.

While Mr Trump and Mr Cruz have levelled drink-based insults, it was an ally to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that outright accused Mr Boehner of being a lazy “alcoholic”.

Among the private emails of Ms Clinton released in 2015, long-time confidante Sidney Blumenthal gave his assessment on the Speaker after the GOP gained control of the House.

“Boehner is despised by the younger, more conservative members of the House Republican Conference,” Mr Blumenthal wrote. “They are repelled by his personal behaviour. He is louche, alcoholic, lazy, and without any commitment to any principle.”

Ms Clinton replied to thank Mr Blumenthal, "as always, for your insights".

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