Madison Cawthorn’s claim that Washington is a den of drug users and orgy lovers seems to have gotten to his fellow Republicans in a way that calling Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “thug,” alleging the teetotaling Nancy Pelosi is an alcoholic, and a million other objectionable questionable claims did not.
Cawthorn recently alleged that he had been invited to an orgy by a fellow politician, and that other pols had done a “key bump” of cocaine in his presence. Republicans cried foul at this assertion that Washington is actually exciting, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy scolded Cawthorn in a private meeting on Wednesday. Recounting his one-on-one with the 26-year-old congressman, McCarthy said he had warned Cawthorn that he was on the wrong course, in politics and in life.
McCarthy also said he had “lost trust” in Cawthorn, and that Cawthorn could lose committee assignments or be punished in some other way if he keeps screwing up. At least the young lawmaker walked back his claim about the cocaine — way back, according to Politico:
And McCarthy had some information for Republican lawmakers who have called on Cawthorn to name names, too. The GOP leader said Cawthorn described the cocaine incident differently than he did in the podcast. Instead of a lawmaker, Cawthorn told McCarthy he believes “he thinks he saw maybe a staffer in a parking garage maybe 100 yards away,” and that Cawthorn told him “he doesn’t know what cocaine is.”
A burned-out aide enjoying a solitary and fleeting moment of excitement after a 20-hour workday? Yeah, that sounds more like the real Washington.
