GOP lawmaker excoriates some fellow Republicans

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, called some of his fellow lawmakers “scumbags” on Sunday as GOP infighting has reached new heights in the House.

Gonzales, appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” was asked whether he believes House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will survive an effort to remove him from his leadership post. The House was effectively frozen for weeks last year after a handful of Republican rebels voted alongside Democrats to remove then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Now, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has threatened to try to do the same to Johnson.

Gonzales had some sharp words about his colleagues, most notably Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

“It’s my absolute honor to be in Congress, but I serve with some real scumbags,” Gonzales said, alleging that Gaetz sexually assaulted minors “at drug parties.”

In 2021, the Justice Department opened an investigation into Gaetz over alleged cash payments made in exchange for sex, including to an underage girl. The department in 2023 dropped charges against Gaetz after prosecutors said there were credibility issues with two key witnesses. He is still under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

Gaetz responded to Gonzales’ Sunday comments in a post on social media platform X, accusing him of lying and calling on voters to support Gonzales’ GOP opponent. Gaetz has repeatedly denied the allegations.

The Texas lawmaker also criticized Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., for supporting his Republican opponent, Brandon Herrera, a gun rights activist. Gonzales alleged that Herrera is a “known neoNazi” and referred to the Ku Klux Klan.

It was not immediately clear what Gonzales was specifically referencing.

Herrera rejected Gonzales’ comments on Sunday, stating in a post on X: “He has to cry to his liberal friends about me, because Republicans won’t listen anymore.”

Gonzales on Sunday said more centrist members of Congress are “exhausted.”

“For some reason, these fringe people think as if they have the high ground. They do not, I assure you,” he said.