Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) issued an apology on Sunday for calling some of his fellow Republicans “terrorists” during the discussions that ultimately led to the election of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) as House speaker.
Crenshaw issued a public apology during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper.
“Listen, people get angry, and words fly. He added that people who were offended by it should realize that Crenshaw was only using a figure of speech.
“My skin is fairly thick. The same faction of the party has attacked me I was trying to defeat, and they’ve called me horrible, nasty names. The delicate nature of the situation surprised me a little. I apologize deeply to any of my coworkers who were hurt by this. No, I wouldn’t want people to think I truly think they’re terrorists. It’s the kind of term you’d use at an impasse,” he explained.
According to Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, the twenty Republicans who voted with McCarthy opposed were “terrorists.” After the fact, he doubled back on his comments but said they weren’t to be taken literally.
The speaker was only using metaphor. “F***ing people need to get a sense of humor and thick skin,” he said. I agree with you; it is exactly my take on the situation. I can’t take any more of these resentments. I’ve already been chastised for calling them by a different name. Okay, I’ll tell you what: Once you enter the octagon, you may expect to be punched in the face.
Even after McCarthy was elected speaker, Crenshaw continued to criticize his colleagues’ actions and dared them to help him become a speaker.
We’re telling them to stop acting like children and state their thoughts. That’s the question I posed to them. Indeed, I count a few of them among my closest friends. Put an end to cliches like “Washington is broken” and start stating something more substantive. According to what Crenshaw had to say, we can’t continue as before.
During an interview with Fox News Radio’s Guy Benson on Wednesday, Crenshaw was also critical of the GOP holdouts.
They were flying blind. “They’ve got a wish list, and so far, we’ve fulfilled most of their wishes,” he explained. They have locked all the doors, removed the pins from the explosives, and are now gazing at each other, seemingly bewildered as to what to do next.
Early Saturday morning, McCarthy finally received the support he needed from the Republican majority in the House.
Six Republican votes “present” decreased the threshold needed for McCarthy to win the seat, and he did so with 216 votes to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-NY) 212, as reported by The Daily Wire. The victory occurred after 15 votes were cast over several days upon the return of House members from the Christmas recess.
At various points in the nomination process, twenty Republicans withheld their support for McCarthy. After a week of debate, the House finally voted, with all but six Republicans supporting McCarthy.