BS BULLETIN:
- A late-night meeting in Speaker Mike Johnson’s office reportedly erupted into shouting over a proposed federal gas-tax holiday.
- Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris allegedly pounded the table and declared, “This is f***ing war!”
- Rep. Clay Higgins then reportedly called fellow Republican Sam Graves a “disrespectful fool” before walking out.
Apparently the House Republican leadership meeting Tuesday night did not include milk and cookies.
A late-night gathering in Speaker Mike Johnson’s office reportedly descended into shouting, table pounding and Republicans storming out as lawmakers battled over a proposal to temporarily suspend the federal gasoline tax.
The Washington Sun, formerly NOTUS, reported that Johnson called the 9:15 p.m. meeting after House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris pushed leadership to consider suspending the federal gas tax through the November election.
The gathering included Republican leaders, committee chairmen and representatives of the House GOP’s ideological factions.
Then Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves brought receipts.
Graves opposed Harris’ proposal and reportedly produced a 2022 social media post in which Harris criticized President Joe Biden for pursuing essentially the same idea.
“Suspending the federal gas tax is just another Biden Administration stunt to distract from their self-inflicted crisis,” Harris wrote at the time.
That apparently did not improve the mood.
According to multiple sources cited by the Washington Sun, Harris became furious, pounded the desk and declared:
“This is f***ing war! This is war!”
Harris reportedly began walking out before Johnson urged him to stay and “talk this out.”
Enter Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins.
Higgins reportedly confronted Graves for making the dispute personal.
“Why do you have to come at him personally?” Higgins asked.
Then came the line of the evening: “You disrespectful fool!”
Higgins reportedly walked out alongside Harris.
One person present described the gathering to the Washington Sun as among the craziest meetings they had ever attended. “The room was really tense,” another source said.
Representatives for Harris, Higgins and Graves did not immediately respond to the outlet’s requests for comment about the confrontation.
But Higgins wasn’t finished.
The following day, he took the dispute public on X, calling Graves an “Establishment elitist” and accusing him of killing the Freedom Caucus proposal.
Higgins said the plan had been to bring legislation canceling the federal fuel tax for three months to the House floor.
“Man wants his taxes,” Higgins wrote.
“And he was rude about it. Unbelievable. The swamp is fighting hard to come back.”
The underlying fight comes as Republicans search for ways to address voters’ concerns about fuel prices heading into the midterms.
But the proposed gas-tax holiday has exposed a policy contradiction Republicans themselves previously highlighted.
When Biden called on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax in 2022, numerous Republicans dismissed the idea as a gimmick that wouldn’t address the underlying causes of high fuel prices.
Now some conservatives want Republicans to try it themselves. Graves apparently thought Harris might appreciate the reminder.
He did not.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- The Washington Sun — House Republican meeting turns into shouting match
- Mediaite — ‘You Disrespectful Fool!’ GOP House leadership meeting ends in chaos
- Roll Call — Gas tax holiday bill stalls amid House GOP fight
- Politico — GOP gas-tax holiday push falters in House
