Kevin McCarthy says Cawthorn lied about D.C. orgies. Others doubt claim he 'doesn't know what cocaine is.'
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) sat down with Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) on Wednesday to grill him about his claims he was invited to orgies and witnessed anti-addiction crusaders "do a key bump of cocaine right in front of you" — and Cawthorn's responses were apparently not very credible.
"There's no evidence to this," McCarthy told Axios after his meeting with Cawthorn. "He changes what he tells," and "he did not tell the truth," which is "unacceptable." McCarthy specified to Politico that Cawthorn, 26, admitted to exaggerating the cocaine story and told him "he doesn't know what cocaine is." The North Carolina band The Mountain Goats pointed out the implausibility of that denial, noting that "key bump" isn't a phrase typically used by people unfamiliar with cocaine.
McCarthy said he won't punish Cawthorn, at least not yet. "There's a lot of different things that can happen," he told reporters. "I just told him he's lost my trust, he's gonna have to earn it back, and I laid out everything I find is unbecoming. And, you can't just say, 'You can't do this again.' I mean, he's, he's got a lot of members very upset."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The clear implication of Cawthorn's comments on the Warrior Poet Society podcast last week — that as "kind of a young guy in Washington," he's been invited to "kind of a sexual get-together" or "orgy" at one of the houses of people "I've always looked up to through my life, always paid attention to politics" — is that conservative lawmakers have invited him to sex parties.
Multiple Republican House members stood up at a caucus meeting Tuesday "to air their anger and frustration over Cawthorn portraying his own colleagues as bacchanalian and sexual deviants," Politico reports.
One of the lawmakers who stood up, Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), told Politico on Wednesday that simply telling Cawthorn "Hey, don't do that, again," won't cut it. "Frankly, if western North Carolina is not going to fix the problem, then leadership will have to," he said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) said she's "not sure why Republicans are acting so shocked by Cawthorn's alleged revelations about their party," given their continued embrace of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). "One of their members is being investigated for sex trafficking a minor and they've been pretty OK w[ith] that," she tweeted. "They issued more consequences to members who voted to impeach Trump."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Paloma recipe: the cocktail of the summer
The Week Recommends This refreshing drink balances the fresh and fizzy taste of grapefruit soda with a subtle flavour of smooth tequila
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Mushroom edibles are tripping up users
the explainer The psychedelics can sometimes have questionable components
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Prisons are simply not prepared for extreme heat
Under the radar Inmates are at severe risk of heat-related illness
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The convention speakers whose political stars rose
The Explainer Why you're likely to see the future leaders of the Democratic and Republican Parties at the conventions
By David Faris Published
-
Menendez convicted of bribery, fraud, and extortion
Speed Read The New Jersey Democratic Senator was found guilty in a federal corruption trial
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Florida judge dismisses Trump documents case
Speed Read Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Hamas says military chief survived Israeli strike
Speed Read An Israeli bombing failed to hit its intended target, military commander Mohammed Deif, but killed at least 90 Palestinians
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
First Israeli report on Oct. 7 finds 'severe mistakes and errors' in IDF response
Speed Reads Israeli military admits failures in response to deadly Hamas attack that triggered Gaza war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden saw neurologist during physicals
Speed Read Following his bad debate performance, many are asking questions about the president's brain
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published