Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is expecting some sort of consequence after Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama got heated toward fellow Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz on Friday and was restrained on the House floor.
Rogers, an ally of newly elected Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, seemed to take issue with Gaetz’s decision to vote ‘present’ during the 14th round of voting for House speaker.
His refusal to vote meant that McCarthy did not reach the required number necessary to win the speakership.
Rogers approached Gaetz on the House floor after it became obvious that McCarthy would fail to raise enough votes yet again. Rogers was seen reaching for Gaetz and shouting at him before being restrained by fellow Rep. Richard Hudson.
Hudson appeared to both pull Rogers back and attempt to cover the Alabama lawmaker’s mouth as he removed him from the spat.
Greene, another McCarthy ally, weighed in on the kerfuffle in comments to reporters early Saturday.
‘Mike Rogers lost his temper and was basically going to, you know, put his hands on Matt,’ Greene said. ‘And it was actually Richard Hudson — grabbed Mike Rogers from behind and pulled him away.’
The congresswoman added, ‘So yeah, that was completely out of line. And then I’m sure it’ll be dealt with.’
Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee had a different take.
‘I’m honestly – I’m not going to be threatened by anybody, and if somebody puts their hands on me, I will drop them like a bag of dirt,’ Burchett told reporters early Saturday. ‘I really will, man. That is not – I am not one to back down from a fight.’
Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina said, ‘Cooler heads prevailed in a really intense moment.’
‘I’ve seen three or four moments like – that would even approach that in my 18 years, and that, that might have just taken the cake,’ McHenry said.