Tensions came to a boil in the House Republican conference with one congressman calling Rep. Matt Gaetz “tubby,” according to new reports.
NBC News initially reported the intense exchange. Correspondent Julie Tsirkin noted that a group of Republicans approached House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) regarding a financial aid package for Ukraine, urging a delay in its House vote until aid for Israel passed in both the House and Senate.
Johnson faced criticism from his party over a proposed $100 billion foreign aid package for countries such as Ukraine and Israel. In response, he separated the aid requests to facilitate passage through the House and Senate. However, two members of his party, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), supported a motion to vacate.
Initial reports indicated that Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) threatened to bring a motion to vacate during a heated exchange with Johnson on Thursday. Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and others were reportedly present, but Tsirkin noted Van Orden escalated the situation with a personal insult. NBC News reporter Sarah Mimms later confirmed Van Orden got in Johnson’s face during the incident, citing two sources.
Subsequent reports clarified that the insult was aimed at Gaetz.
“The ‘tubby’ insult was directed specifically at Matt Gaetz. He felt the need to call me a ‘squish,’ and I wanted to remind those who haven’t been in combat or held a friend’s hand as they died from enemy fire that they shouldn’t call others ‘squish,'” Van Orden told Axios reporter Juliegrace Brufke.
