GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw apologizes for branding the 20 McCarthy holdouts as ‘terrorists’

Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw apologized Sunday for calling the 20 conservatives who nearly derailed Kevin McCarthy’s presidential bid “terrorists.”

Crenshaw, a military veteran and one of the top Republicans on the Homeland Security committee, was one of the most vocal members of his party to vent his frustrations as the battle over who will lead his slim majority in the House raged for four grueling days. .

In addition to calling them ‘terrorists’, Crenshaw also branded the holdout 20, who eventually voted for McCarthy or voted ‘present’, ‘charlatans’ and ‘haters’.

But he backed down on those comments during an appearance on CNN’s State of The Union, though the lawmaker admitted he was “baffled” by the “sensitivity” of his colleagues who took offense at his criticism.

‘To the extent that I have colleagues who were offended by that, I sincerely apologize. I don’t want them to think that I actually think they are terrorists. It’s clearly a turn of phrase that you use in what is an uncompromising negotiation,” Crenshaw said.

The 15 rounds of voting exposed party divisions within the Republican Party, raising concerns about how McCarthy could maintain enough control over his slim majority to keep Congress running.

Tense scenes unfolded on the House floor for four days as McCarthy’s allies pleaded with the more than 200 other members of his conference to vote resisters.

Crenshaw had told CNN’s Manu Raju on Wednesday that the reticent Republicans “have made it clear that they prefer a Democratic agenda over a Republican one.” Meanwhile, another pro-McCarthy lawmaker branded them the ‘Taliban 20’.

“Look, things get heated and things are said,” Crenshaw said Sunday, specifically addressing the “terrorist” comments.

It is in the context of intransigent negotiations. Look, I have pretty thick skin. They call me horrible and vile things because of the guy from the same wing of the party that I am fighting against, was fighting at the time. So I was a bit taken aback by the…sensitivity of it.’

New House Speaker Kevin McCarthy narrowly won the deck after four days and 15 rounds of voting.

One of the 20 holdouts was Rep. Matt Gaetz, whose ‘present’ vote in the 14th round instead of a vote for McCarthy ignited tempers in the House chamber on Friday night.

Texas Rep. Chip Roy is another holdout who was eventually instrumental in negotiating more conservative victories on the House rules package and convincing other rebels to join him.

He also clarified that his problem was not the terms that the reticents demanded, but the disorderly way in which the debacle unfolded in public.

“There was no reason for us to keep voting, keep voting, if we were to allow these speeches that only demean, belittle, and insult Kevin McCarthy. We didn’t have to keep doing that,’ Crenshaw said.

‘We could have deferred the whole week and kept trading… So that’s where the heartburn is. And that’s what I want people to know.

The end result of the negotiations is a package of House rules that lays the groundwork for drastic spending cuts and weakens the top-down leadership style the chamber has operated with for years, while strengthening the conservative wing. of the Republican Party.

It gives members of the hardline House Freedom Caucus several seats on the powerful Rules Committee, which keeps all bills heading to the House floor, and empowers them with an off switch in the McCarthy Presidency. known as a “motion to vacate the chair”. .’

McCarthy reportedly offered the rogue 20 Republicans a list of concessions he would make in exchange for their votes in the presidential race.

The rules have left some members of the Republican conference concerned. Rep. Tony Gonzales said he would oppose the rule package, while Rep. Nancy Mace told CBS News’ Face The Nation on Sunday that she was “on the fence” until she could see more details.

With only a slim majority of 222 seats, McCarthy can only afford to lose four votes on any bill guaranteed to win an even Democratic opposition.

While wary of potential defense spending cuts, Crenshaw noted general support for the package and suggested that disagreement, not disorder, was a good thing.

“It’s important to get something out of this, get some of these complaints out at a time like this, because it kind of surprises people,” Crenshaw said.

And it leads you to this phase where, you know what? We need to get everyone involved in some of these issues much sooner.’