'They were in each other’s faces': Report details bitter fight between Speaker McCarthy and Eric Swalwell

28 July 2023

Back in the 1980s, Soviet Union officials in the Politburo had a hard time comprehending the relationship between conservative Republican President Ronald Reagan and liberal House Speaker Tip O'Neill (D-Massachusetts). Reagan and O'Neill had plenty of policy disagreements, yet they famously maintained a cordial relationship and viewed one another as the loyal opposition — a concept that didn't exist in the Soviet Communist Party.

Times have changed. As critical as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) has been of President Joe Biden, many MAGA Republicans resent him not being even more critical. McCarthy is under constant pressure to attack Democrats more vehemently and defend former President Donald Trump more aggressively.

An article published by the Daily Beast on July 27 details bitter tensions between McCarthy and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California). McCarthy, according to Beast reporter Matt Fuller, was so angry that he even threatened Swalwell with violence for calling him a "p***y."

When House Republicans voted to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) on June 21, Fuller reports, Swalwell slammed McCarthy for going along with it and told him, "This is pathetic. You're weak. You're a weak man."

That exchange, according to Fuller, "was conveyed to The Daily Beast by two separate lawmakers." One of the sources told the Beast that McCarthy "had a vein popping out of his forehead." And on June 22, a source alleged, McCarthy told Swalwell, "If you ever say something like that to me again, I'm gonna kick the s**t out of you…. Call me a p***y again, and I'll kick your a**."

But Swalwell, according to the lawmakers, didn't back down and told the House speaker, "You. Are. A. P***y."

A House member, also interviewed on condition of anonymity, told the Beast, "They were in each other's faces. Basically nose-to-nose. And Swalwell said something like, 'Are we really gonna do this?'"

Fuller reports, "Since then, Swalwell has repeatedly slammed McCarthy on cable TV and social media, recently calling him 'corrupt' on MSNBC. While neither McCarthy nor Swalwell wanted to go on the record to speak about the incident, a month after the confrontation, the story is making its way around Congress, with each telling getting a little more dramatic. At least publicly, there's little indication the feud will die down — at least on Swalwell's part."

Read the Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).

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