Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a complaint to the House Ethics Committee Tuesday following a physical altercation between Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Tim Burchett (R-TN) at the Capitol that morning.
Burchett was one of the eight Republican lawmakers who voted to vacate McCarthy from his role as speaker of the House last month. And he noted that the two men haven't spoken since the vote.
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According to reporter Claudia Grisales and Burchett, McCarthy elbowed the Tennessee Republican in his back while walking past him. Grisales documented that Burchett asked the former speaker why he elbowed him before chasing after him. McCarthy denied shoving Burchett, to which the lawmaker retorted, "You got no guts, you did so, ... the reporter said it right there, what kind of chicken move is that."
McCarthy later said claims that he elbowed Burchett in the kidney were being overblown.
Upon learning of the incident, Gaetz slammed the former speaker. On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Gaetz wrote, "This is wild. McCarthy resorting to pushing people in the halls. What a weak, pathetic, husk of a man."
Audio of Tim Burchett's exchange with Kevin McCarthy recorded by @cgrisales, who was interviewing Burchett for NPR when it happened https://t.co/RVjJTsFubp pic.twitter.com/K3j3gpJ0aq
— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) November 14, 2023
Gaetz apparently felt further action needed to be taken, as he then penned his complaint to the Ethics Committee. "It has come to my attention that this morning, November 14, 2023, following a meeting of the House Republican Conference, Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) assaulted Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN) in the hallways of Capitol complex," he wrote.
The Florida congressman was notably not a witness of the event but detailed that several individuals did see the altercation.
He noted that Burchett described the hit as both a "sucker punch" and "a clean shot to the kidney."
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According to Gaetz, such an incident warrants an "immediate and swift investigation." He additionally pointed out the committee's duty to examine breaches of the congressional code of conduct, regardless of whether Burchett seeks to pursue charges.
In response to Gaetz's ethics filing, McCarthy said, "I think ethics is a good place for Gaetz to be." This is presumably in reference to Gaetz's own ethics investigation, which has been ongoing since 2021, into various allegations including sexual misconduct, drug use, and misuse of campaign funds, among other things.