Updated 00.34 | Published 2023-11-15 23.48
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One allegedly punched a party friend in the kidneys.
Another wanted to settle with a witness.
A third mocked a colleague’s appearance.
An unlikely figure came to the rescue during the great day of chaos.
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It was one of the strangest days in a long time in the US Congress.
Arguments and scuffles arose in corridors and in the chamber. The smock hung in the air several times.
This at the same time as concerns about a possible shutdown of the federal state apparatus were heavy.
Fought, threatened, mocked
But when the gunpowder smoke settled during the evening, it was one of Congress’s most controversial figures who saved the mood – and by extension the American economy.
On Wednesday, the Republicans were heavily mocked for the chaos.
The members of the House of Representatives and the Senate involved were called “toddlers” and “clowns” by political analysts and journalists on social media.
“Democrats in the House of Representatives continue to fight for the American people. The extreme MAGA Republicans are fighting each other,” writes Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, on X.
In short, the Republicans succeeded for a few hours on Tuesday:
arrow Fight with eachother. House of Representatives member Tim Burchett was talking to reporters when former Speaker and party colleague Kevin McCarthy walked by.
“Straight blow to the kidneys”
They have been enemies since Burchett was one of eight Republicans who joined forces with Democrats to oust McCarthy as Speaker.
According to journalists on the spot, McCarthy allegedly pushed Burchett from behind so that he “fell forward”.
Burchett then accused McCarthy of sneaking up on him and “elbowing him in the back”. He also called him “pathetic” and “idiot”. He also said that “you need protection, Kevin”.
In an interview with CNN later Tuesday, Burchett said it was “a straight punch to the kidneys” and that he was still in pain.
He also said, according to Politicothat they “could settle in the parking lot” and it would be “a short fight”.
McCarthy, for his part, denied that he had punched his party colleague in the kidneys. He meant that they only bumped into each other in the narrow passage.
“Looks like a Smurf”
– If I had hit someone in the kidneys, that person would have been lying on the ground, said the former speaker later according to the Washington Post.
arrow Mess with Democrats. A few hours later there was a committee hearing on federal procurement in the House of Representatives.
There, Democrat Jared Moskowitz accused the committee chairman, Republican James Comer, of making a similar type of shady loan to his brother that Republicans accuse Joe Biden of making to his brother.
Comer called the accusation “bullshit” that could only be made by “stupid, financially illiterate people”.
He later continued the rant against Moskowitz, who was wearing a blue checkered blazer and blue tie.
– You look like a Smurf here, Comer said according to Politico.
arrow Mess with witnesses. Perhaps the most startling row on Tuesday occurred during a Senate hearing titled “Standing Up Against Corporate Greed: How Unions Are Improving Lives for Working Families.”
“Stand up”
There, an exchange of words between Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin and Sean M. O’Brien, leader of the major Teamsters union, almost degenerated into a full-on brawl.
It all started when Mullin, who claims to have made a fortune through his family’s construction company, read a post on X in which the union base questioned the senator’s success.
“A greedy CEO who pretends that he succeeded on his own. In reality just a clown and fraud. Always has been, always will be. Stop coming across as a tough guy in the Senate hearings. You know where I am. Anytime, cowboy,” O’Brien wrote in the post.
After reading the post, Mullin pointed to O’Brien and said it was “the time and place” to make amends.
They both urged each other to stand up and Mullin began to move threateningly towards O’Brien.
The altercation had to be interrupted by committee chairman Bernie Sanders, who reminded Mullin that he is a senator in the US Congress.
Unexpected rescue
Democrat Sanders called the incident “pretty pathetic” on CNN later.
Many linked the various events to frustration that Congress has been in session for many weeks at a stretch and concern that the federal government apparatus risks shutting down if a temporary budget is not agreed upon.
But on Tuesday night, tensions were eased when the House of Representatives, led by newly appointed and very conservative Speaker Mike Johnson, came together across party lines and voted through a budget proposal.
During Thursday, the proposal is expected to go through the Senate, and thus the members of Congress can leave Washington and take a long vacation over the Thanksgiving weekend.
For the Democrats, Johnson’s willingness to compromise was a big surprise, writes The New York Times.
– I’ve had the job for three weeks, okay? I can’t turn a jet plane overnight, Johnson said of the criticism from the right wing, his own base, in the party.