As GOP infighting in the House reaches new heights, Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas, dubbed some of his fellow members “scumbags” on Sunday.
When Gonzales spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union,” he was questioned about whether he thought House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, would hold onto his position as leader. Following a few Republican rebels’ votes alongside Democrats to remove then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last year, the House was essentially paralyzed for weeks. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has threatened to attempt to do the same with Johnson.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., was among the colleagues about whom Gonzales had some harsh things to say. Gonzales said of Matt Gaetz,
“It’s my absolute honor to be in Congress, but I serve with some real scumbags,” claiming that Gaetz had molested children “at drug parties.”
The Justice Department began looking into Gaetz in 2021 due to claims that he had paid cash for sex, including with a minor.
In 2023, the agency dismissed Gaetz’s allegations after prosecutors said that two important witnesses lacked credibility. The House Ethics Committee continues to look into him.
In a post on X, Gaetz addressed Gonzales’ remarks from Sunday, accusing him of lying and urging people to back his Republican opponent. Gaetz has refuted the claims on several occasions.
The Texas senator also attacked Rep. Bob Good, R-Virginia, for endorsing the gun rights activist Brandon Herrera, the Republican opponent. Gonzales made reference to the Ku Klux Klan and claimed that Herrera is a “known neo-Nazi”.
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It took a moment to figure out what Gonzales was talking about. Earlier last month, Jewish Insider revealed that Herrera had uploaded movies to the internet with Nazi images. Jewish Insider reached out to his campaign for comment, but they didn’t hear back.
In a post on X on Sunday, Herrera shot against Gonzales’ remarks, saying, “He has to cry to his liberal friends about me, because Republicans won’t listen anymore.”
Gonzales was censured by the Texas Republican Party last year due to his stances on a number of issues, including his support for some gun control legislation in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.
Gonzales claimed on Sunday that a growing number of moderate members of Congress are “worn out” and “sick.”
“For some reason, these fringe people think as if they have the high ground. They do not, I assure you,” he remarked, continuing “The way you take care of a bully is you bloody their nose.”
