Far-right Congressman Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina caused a stir this week after comments he made during the Warrior Poet Society podcast.
The episode scrutinized how similar the goings-on of Congress are to the Netflix series House of Cards, which was canceled four years ago and details the ambition of a corrupt Congressman's quest for ultimate power.
Never one to miss a chance at expressing moral outrage, Cawthorn railed against the "sexual perversion" he claims is rampant within Washington, and one of his salacious claims is already getting backlash from fellow members of the GOP House conference.
Watch his original diatribe below.
Madison Cawthorn affirms Washington DC is like the movie House of Cards and said people that he’s looked up his whole life who are now in their 60’s or 70’s have invited him to an orgy at their home and others have done cocaine in front of him. pic.twitter.com/iJnWMJ9PIR
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) March 27, 2022
Cawthorn told host John Lovell:
"The sexual perversion that goes on in Washington, I mean, being kind of a young guy in Washington, average age is probably 60 or 70. I look at a lot of these people, a lot of them that I’ve looked up to through my life ― I’ve always paid attention to politics. Then all of a sudden, you get invited to, ‘Oh, hey, we’re going to have a sexual get-together at one of our homes, you should come.’ I’m like, 'What did you just ask me to come to?' And then you realize they are asking you to come to an orgy."
The Congressman also claimed that members of Congress did key bumps of cocaine in his presence.
Before long, the clip went viral. Democratic members of Congress mocked Cawthorn while others demanded to know who supposedly invited him to the event.
Now, Politico reports that, in a closed-door meeting of Republican House members, in which Cawthorn reportedly wasn't present, multiple conservative representatives expressed outrage at the way his anecdote seemed to characterize the entire GOP conference as narcotic-loving nymphos.
It goes on to state:
"There's a desire among fellow Republicans for Cawthorn to identify the colleagues involved to prove the truth of his comments, but that desire to name names could also cause new headaches for a conference that's already faced an array of controversies this Congress."
As a result, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy intends to sit down with Cawthorn to discuss his comments and potentially reprimand the 26 year old Congressman.
As you may imagine, social media users are having a field day with the news.
This thing where Republicans are mad that Madison Cawthorn said they're all having coke-fueled orgies is my new favorite storyline. https://t.co/6cfhPWCJOp
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) March 29, 2022
Republicans, you made your bed... https://t.co/8yiJref2Ua
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) March 29, 2022
Every freshman Rep eventually makes an orgy/cocaine gaffe don’t take it personally @CawthornforNC https://t.co/1Lz14VhSPz
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) March 29, 2022
I guess I missed the Schoolhouse Rock song about when a member of Congress says other members of Congress host orgies https://t.co/GzeEl48GgN
— Grace Segers (@Grace_Segers) March 29, 2022
Wow, this House GOP caucus meeting was some wild stuff. https://t.co/MoD1SIGPG1 pic.twitter.com/3kOeeSIzEs
— Eric Kleefeld (@EricKleefeld) March 29, 2022
Others scorned the party for apparently drawing the line at group sex rumors, but not at a host of catastrophes that have direct effects on American democracy.
Trying to overturn democracy was ok with McCarthy, but revealing the cocaine-fueled orgies was a bridge too far I guess. https://t.co/YJFngUFjbs
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) March 29, 2022
In today's GOP supporting a coup against the United States of America is cool, but don't you dare suggest that your colleagues do drugs or group sex. https://t.co/EXOVec7lAi
— Melissa Ryan (@MelissaRyan) March 29, 2022
So THIS is what gets the leaders of the GOP upset?? https://t.co/fyQNjiZr2H
— Katie S. Phang (@KatiePhang) March 29, 2022
Members of the caucus speaking to and courting white nationalists: GOP sleeps
Someone says GOP members host orgies and do cocaine: REAL SHIT https://t.co/HGmfbGaBOF
— Jared Holt (@jaredlholt) March 29, 2022
It remains to be seen if Cawthorn will name names.