WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett used to consider California Rep. Kevin McCarthy a friend until the former speaker reportedly elbowed him in the back on Tuesday as he passed by him in a Capitol hallway on Tuesday.
The Tennessee representative stopped to talk to reporters in the hall after leaving a conference meeting on Tuesday. Shortly after, McCarthy passed by, allegedly elbowing Burchett in the back near his kidneys. Burchett responded immediately, chasing McCarthy down the hall as he confronted him.
In remarks to reporters later, McCarthy denied elbowing the congressman, claiming the Tennessee representative was just looking for media attention. But Burchett is not backing down.
He told NewsNation that he never commented on the incident directly to the public.
In fact, Burchett told his staff not to post anything about it and told them not to give a comment until the media asked him about it directly.
Tensions between lawmakers have been growing since eight representatives voted to oust McCarthy as speaker. McCarthy has been generous in his criticism of the lawmakers, but Burchett — one of the eight who voted to oust McCarthy — has claimed the former speaker can be aggressive behind the scenes.
Burchett claimed McCarthy has a history of acting aggressively toward other lawmakers in the past, saying this move was “very much within his character.” Former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger even wrote about similar incidents in his book.
“It’s just a sad conclusion of his political career,” Burchett said. “He’ll obviously play mischief in a lot of Republican primaries like mine, and several of my other colleagues, I’m sure will feel the brunt of it”
But Burchett said he doesn’t he doesn’t have any animosity toward McCarthy, it’s just disappointing that he’d act that way.
Previously, Burchett had once called McCarthy a friend but explained that he just really feels sorry for him these days, especially since he has resorted to petty acts of intimidation.
“It’s just unfortunate, and honestly, I pray for him. I feel sorry for him,” Burchett said.
He continued, “We need to get over ourselves in Congress and realize the country is falling apart.”
Burchett said Congress needs to shift the focus from small verbal disputes to the national problems this country faces.