If you thought Madison Cawthorn's (R-N.C.) orgy and cocaine allegations were too outlandish to be true ... it's probably because, well, they were. Womp, womp.
Apparently, when Cawthorn met with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday (as McCarthy had promised his members he'd do), Cawthorn admitted some of the shocking allegations were exaggerated and incorrect. In return, McCarthy told the freshman lawmaker "he's lost my trust" and "laid out everything I find is unbecoming," per Axios. Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) was also present at the meeting.
Let's rewind for a quick refresher on what happened —
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.
During a recent conversation with Jon Lovell of the Warrior Poet Society podcast, Cawthorn was asked whether life in Congress mirrors the political drama House of Cards, to which Cawthorn replied by claiming he had been invited to orgies at the homes of DC insiders and watched leaders in the anti-drug movement do key bumps of cocaine.
Obviously, Cawthorn's fellow Republicans weren't too happy with his claims, and demanded McCarthy speak to the lawmaker to find out who he was referring to.
On Wednesday, all the clarity McCarthy could offer after the sit-down was that Cawthorn "thinks he saw maybe a staffer" doing cocaine "in a parking garage from 100 yards away," per Axios and Politico.
Not a very strong explanation, Cawthorn. To start, how do you know what anyone's doing from 100 yards away? And what about the orgies? Were those in the parking garage too? Please, make it make sense!
The response was seemingly good enough for McCarthy, however, because the leader said he'll wait and see how Cawthorn decides to better himself before taking any official action against him, per Axios.
-
Political cartoons for November 12Cartoons Wednesday's political cartoons include a Democratic top dog, tariffs or taxes, and anti-woke politics
-
Why these Iraqi elections are so importantThe Explainer The US and Israel are increasingly pressuring Baghdad to tackle Iran-backed militants, while weakened Iran sees Iraq as a vital remaining ally
-
Crossword: November 12, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Is Trump a lame duck president?Talking Points Republicans are considering a post-Trump future
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
-
Democrats split as Senate votes to end shutdownSpeed Read The proposed deal does not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Democrats’ main demand
-
USDA orders states to ‘undo’ full SNAP paymentsSpeed Read The Trump administration is telling states not to pay full November food stamp benefits
-
Senate takes first step to end record shutdownSpeed Read Eight senators in the Democratic caucus voted with Republicans to advance legislation to reopen the government
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Nick Fuentes’ Groyper antisemitism is splitting the rightTalking Points Interview with Tucker Carlson draws conservative backlash
