Rep. Tim Burchett, speaking out on Newsmax on Wednesday after reports that he was either allegedly elbowed or shoved by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the halls of Congress, said he thinks the incident marks an "unfortunate ending as an asterisk on his career."
"He could have gone out on top," the Tennessee Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "So many people in our leadership … they've just shook their heads and said just how pitiful that situation is."
NPR reporter Claudia Grisales, reporting on X, said she was speaking with Burchett after the GOP conference meeting when McCarthy walked by with his security detail and shoved Burchett.
"Burchett lunged toward me," she said. "I thought it was a joke. It was not. A chase ensued."
"You know, I'm pretty Twitter savvy," Burchett told Newsmax. "I didn't put anything out on it. Claudia from NPR is the one who put it out. They can say I lied about it. But what the heck would NPR be doing the cover for me? My conservative credentials rank pretty high up here. … NPR isn't exactly the bastion of conservative thought. So, I just, you know, it's just an unfortunate situation."
And as Burchett described the incident, he said McCarthy "shoved me or elbowed me in the back and then I took off after him just to kind of [grill] him about it. He shouldn't get by with that. And of course, he denied it, and then now, he said I think, he said 'our elbows might have touched' and then one time he said 'I didn't see Tim.' Which is it? Did he not see me? Did he brush up against me? Did he elbow me?"
The situation, Burchett added, is a "really sad commentary" on McCarthy.
But, the congressman said, the physical contact "ain't no big deal. I've got a 16-year-old daughter, and she's hit me harder, probably."
Burchett further commented that as the incident took place while McCarthy had his security detail with him, "It's the classic; when you're a kid throwing a rock over the fence, then running home behind your mama's skirt."
Meanwhile, McCarthy has $17 million in his war chest, Burchett said, and predicted that "he'll be messing" in the campaigns of himself and the other 7 Republicans who voted to oust him.
But still, Burchett said he prayed for McCarthy, and he'll continue to do that.
He also predicted that even if McCarthy is not reelected in 2025, he'll remain in Washington, D.C., "making seven figures with some lobbying firm."
"It's a revolving door," he said. "They get a year break, but they consult and make contacts and things like that. It's pretty evident what's going to happen."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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