Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) tore into a small group of Republican lawmakers during multiple interviews on Wednesday for blocking Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) bid to become the new House Speaker.
The Republicans who are blocking McCarthy’s bid included Reps. Dan Bishop (NC), Lauren Boebert (CO), Byron Donalds (FL), Josh Brecheen (OK), Mike Cloud (TX), Andrew Clyde (GA), Eli Crane (AZ), Matt Gaetz (FL), Bob Good (VA), Paul Gosar (AZ), Andy Harris (MD), Anna Paulina Luna (FL), Mary Miller (IL), Ralph Norman (SC), Andy Ogles (TN), Scott Perry (PA), Matt Rosendale (MT), Chip Roy (TX), Keith Self (TX), and Andy Biggs (AZ).
Speaking to reporters, Crenshaw unloaded on the 20 Republicans, saying, “I’m tired of your stupid platitudes that some consultant told you to say on the campaign trail, alright.”
“Behind closed doors tell us what you actually want, or shut the f**** up,” he said. “They need to be men and adults and say what they want, instead of playing these little games, that’s what we’re asking.”
“That’s what I’ve asked them. Some of them are my friends. Stop saying platitudes like, ‘Washington is broken. We can’t do the status quo,’” he continued. “They want to pull the pins on the grenades and lock the doors.”
“They want to pull the pins on the grenades and lock the doors,” he said of the effort.
— Dylan Wells (@dylanewells) January 4, 2023
“I think the 20 holdouts are continuing to show themselves to be unbelievably unserious. Now they’re just choosing random people. They don’t have a plan. It’s almost like they want to make the point that they don’t have a plan,” he continued. “They have zero ability to articulate what they want that would cause them to vote yes. It is utterly confusing, and then they get mad at us for criticizing, it’s actually quite hilarious the self-victimization that occurs.”
Crenshaw later gave a fiery interview on Fox News Radio with host Guy Benson where he called out the 20 Republicans’ lack of preparation and planning for the alternative they were willing to back instead of McCarthy.
“They had no plan. They have some list of demands that mostly have been met,” he said. “They basically closed all the doors and pulled the pins on the grenades and are staring at each other like, what the hell do we do? Everyone is trying to work with them in good faith to give them an offramp, because this is a terrible situation for them personally. They are responsible for holding up a GOP agenda. They could be responsible for Democrats pulling some really clever deals, maybe forcing a plurality vote, maybe potentially getting a rules package the Democrats want.”
“Then they insulted Donald Trump. Did you hear that part earlier?” Crenshaw said. “Lauren Boebert, and you know, because she’s really served this country, so she gets up and she basically tells Donald Trump to eff off. That’s what she just did. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I just couldn’t believe it.”
When asked if nominating another candidate for Speaker would change the dynamic, Crenshaw said that it would not, which was why “we can’t give in.”
“And so those of us who are standing against this, we’re standing for principle. They are standing for notoriety,” he said. “They’re standing for that extra news because nobody ever cares about them and they’re frustrated by that.”
He said that the 20 Republicans have pushed everyone else into a corner, which has galvanized all the other Republicans’ support for McCarthy.
“So now we’re saying we won’t vote for anyone but McCarthy. That’s why we’re saying it, because we cannot let the terrorists win,” he said. “That’s basically what’s happening.”
Crenshaw, a former NAVY Seal, later addressed backlash from some Republicans and conservatives who were mad that he compared the 20 Republicans to “terrorists.”
“It’s a figure of speech. People need to lighten up and grow some f***ing thick skin,” he said. “That’s what I think about that. I am so sick of like these hurt feelings. I already got criticized earlier because I called them something else. You know what? You step into the octagon, be ready to get punched in the face.”