GOP Rep Gives CNN The Dirt On How Gaetz and Rogers Almost Had Fist Fight on House Floor — It Gets REAL Personal

As the vote for Speaker of the House stretched into the late hours of day four on Friday, Republican tempers erupted, resulting in one congressman being held back by another in a surprising scuffle. One of the Republicans at the center of the kerfuffle, Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, spoke to reporters in the wee hours Saturday, and appeared with CNN’s Jim Acosta later in the day to explain what went down.

“Both sides have some older members and it was getting late. And I suspect most of them had missed the early bird special at the Sizzler, so they were getting a little cantankerous,” Burchett told Acosta Saturday afternoon in the video below. But in the middle of the night he had a few more choice words about the incident. In fact, it got very personal.

As Friday wore on and Rep. Matt Gaetz was nearly single-handedly holding up Rep. Kevin McCarthy reaching a majority on the 14th ballot, things got very real and very heated between Gaetz, Burchett, Rep. Richard Hudson, and Rep. Mike Rogers, who was physically restrained after lunging toward Gaetz’s group.

What was said was not audible in the videos that went viral, but Rep. Burchett, who was at the center of the events, told reporters about the anger that lead to the flare-up, not just between Gaetz and others, but between Burchett and Rogers and seemingly others in the conflict zone.

After it was clear in the penultimate vote that there was no win that round, McCarthy approached Gaetz’s group, where a heated conversation ensued. After McCarthy walked away, C-SPAN cameras caught the sudden outburst in the group, during which North Carolina’s Hudson held Rogers back, getting a hand on his face in the process.

On Saturday, CNN reporter Kate Sullivan tweeted about what was said, as told to her by Rep. Burchett.

“People shouldn’t be drinking, especially when you’re a redneck, on the House floor,” Burchett said, apparently referring to Rogers of Alabama.

“I would drop him like a bag of dirt,” Burchett told Sullivan. “Nobody’s gonna put their hands on me. Nobody’s gonna threaten me.”

Tim Burchett, who was in between Matt Gaetz and Mike Rogers during their confrontation on the House floor, tells me Rogers was making threats about ending careers.

“People shouldn’t be drinking, especially when you’re a redneck, on the House floor,” Burchett said.

— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) January 7, 2023

“I would drop him like a bag of dirt,” Burchett said of Rogers. “Nobody's gonna put their hands on me. Nobody's gonna threaten me."

— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) January 7, 2023

“It’s just one of those things — you’ve been around fights before, you’ve seen it. Some guy gets in your face and then it’s just an unfortunate moment is all it was. It shouldn’t have happened. He shouldn’t have crossed that line,” Burchett said.

“It's just one of those things — you've been around fights before, you’ve seen it. Some guy gets in your face and then it's just an unfortunate moment is all it was. It shouldn’t have happened. He shouldn’t have crossed that line,” Burchett said.

— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) January 7, 2023

Politico’s Olivia Beavers added this:

Before this moment, Rogers had leaned towards Gaetz and co. and said something along the lines of: "You're finished. I'm not gonna forget this," per people familiar. https://t.co/IEvk9o0TND

— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) January 7, 2023

Burchett was somewhat more forgiving and conciliatory when he spoke with Acosta on Saturday afternoon.

ACOSTA: Congressman, You know, we’re used to seeing scenes play out like this in other countries. We don’t see it happen on the House floor in the United States very often. Obviously, people were exhausted last night. Tempers were flaring. It was late at night. Tell us what you saw, what was happening in the lead up to this moment?

BURCHETT: Well, you’re correct. It was, it was very late. You realize that both sides have some older members and it was getting late. And I suspect most of them had missed the early bird special at the Sizzler, so they were getting a little cantankerous. And Mike, who’s a friend of mine, came by and and said some things, probably in haste, as a lot of us do, and I probably responded to him and some things, as well. You know, and Matt and Matt Gaetz had asked to review some of those rules before we voted on Speaker, he felt like he wasn’t given enough time to do just that. And he’d asked for a little more time. And you can see me later in one of the tapes going like that, because I’d asked our leadership to give us a little bit of a break so we could put our heads together and go over some of those things. And it was just unfortunate situation. And that’s what happens when people are tired And you and as you said, it was the fifteenth, the fifteenth ballot that we were able to pass.

ACOSTA: What was going through your mind when you saw Congressman Rogers being restrained., just being there in that moment?

BURCHETT: Well, you can see one of the earlier pictures where I’d actually stiff-armed him. And, you know, I knew he’d lost his cool. it was the second time he’d done that that week. He’d done it earlier in a conference meeting and made some similar demands toward some of us. And it was unfortunate.

You know, it’s one of those regrettable things, but it’s something that’ll be it’ll be remembered. I don’t think it should take away anything from leader, then-leader now Speaker McCarthy’s victory, because it was it was hard fought.

Watch the clip above, via CNN.

Correction: This post transposed the AL as LA for Rep. Rogers and has been corrected.