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.

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."
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.
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictions
Speed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports
Speed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunder
Speed Read Even pro-Trump figures are criticizing The White House's handling of the Signal scandal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ouster
Speed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deportees
speed read U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US officials share war plans with journalist in group chat
Speed Read Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal conversation about striking Yemen
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Canada's Mark Carney calls snap election
speed read Voters will go to the polls on April 28 to pick a new government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Musk set to earn billions from Trump administration
Speed Read Musk's company SpaceX will receive billions in federal government contracts in the coming years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published