Republicans rally to give Texas congressman the right to grill ribs on his office balcony

No one gets between a Texan and his ribs, and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Republican Whip Steve Scalise (La.) know it. Ryan and Scalise reportedly stepped in to defend Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert's right to smoke ribs on the balcony outside his U.S. Capitol office after the office in charge of maintaining the building said Gohmert's hobby was a fire hazard.

Gohmert fussed about the issue on the floor of the House on Friday when he slammed federal agencies over their priorities, the Longview News-Journal reports. "About seven years ago, the architect of the Capitol, who works for the House and Senate, had decided that we all work for him and started making demands, one of which was [that] I could not cook ribs and share them with other members of Congress," Gohmert said.

He added, "I have enough of my late mother in me that I enjoy cooking and enjoy people enjoying what I cook. It's probably the only time here on Capitol Hill when I actually leave a good taste in people's mouths instead of a bitter taste."

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The Longview News-Journal reports that the GOP leaders overruled the Capitol architect, and that the barbecuing can, at long last, resume. Let them eat ribs.