Drama in Congress is starting to spill over

• Congress is increasingly on edge.

• Before their Thanksgiving break, there were two heated confrontations on one day.

• It was not the first time this year that a lawmaker had to be talked down from violence.

School House Rock never sang about fights on Capitol Hill. If anything is clear this Congress though, it’s that Mr. Bill better watch his back.

In jarring series of events right before their Thanksgiving break, lawmakers pushed ever closer to the edge of exchanging outright blows either with each other or a witness at a hearing. If you believe one House Republican’s side of events, one blow has already landed.

To be fair, heated drama is not new to the Capitol. Lawmakers have at times yelled at each other both on their respective floors and during hearings. Former Speaker John Boehner claimed that the now-deceased Rep. Don Young of Alaska held a 10-inch knife to his neck during a heated debate when they were both in Congress.

This moment feels different though. Mistrust still remains from the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. While former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has experts worried about making political violence more acceptable.

It’s why the historian who wrote the book on how the Capitol descended into violence in the run up to the Civil War is more than a little worried. Historically, political violence begets more violence.

“[T]the fact that we’re seeing this sort of thing happen twice in one day is a reminder that we don’t necessarily live in a time of normal politics,” Joanne Freeman, a professor of history of Yale, and author of “The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War” told Politico.

Here are the crazy moments that have happened thus far:

Rep. Mike Rogers lunges at Rep. Matt Gaetz

Background: One of the first near-violent moments occurred just as lawmakers were kicking off the new Congress in January. The first major duty the House must complete is electing a speaker. As House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy was in line to rise to the top job after the GOP narrowly won control after a weaker than expected performance in the 2022 midterms.

But not everyone was a McCarthy fan. For days, Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, helped lead the cause to deny McCarthy the gavel. After 14 votes, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers had enough.

What happened: Rogers, whose committee Gatez serves on, lunged at the Florida Republican. Rep. Richard Hudson, a North Carolina Republican, had to restrain Rogers.

“‘I won’t forget this!’ Rogers of Alabama could be heard shouting on the House floor.

Aftermath: The image of Rogers being held back is one of the lasting scenes of the January chaos. He later apologized for “briefly” losing his temper. McCarthy ended up winning the speakership on the 15th ballot.

Background: Greene, a Georgia Republican, reportedly confronted Boebert, a Colorado Republican, in a Capitol bathroom during McCarthy’s struggle to win the speaker gavel. Tensions between the pair came to a head over competing efforts to impeach President Joe Biden.

What happened: Greene called Boebert a “little bitch” on the House floor, according to The Daily Beast. Greene also accused Boebert of stealing her the language to impeach President Joe Biden. Greene later confirmed the animosity telling Semafor, “She has genuinely been a nasty little bitch to me.” When asked about it, Boebert told CNN, “I’m not in middle school.”

The aftermath: Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, told The Daily Beast “a fistfight could break out at any moment” between the pair. The House Freedom Caucus, an exclusive group of far-right lawmakers, kicked Greene out of the group. Her ouster was as much about her closeness to then-Speaker McCarthy as the drama with Boebert, but their bickering did not help Greene’s case. Months later, Greene lashed out at Boebert again, bring up reports of Boebert getting frisky with her reported date during a performance of the Beetlejuice musical.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenges a union boss to a fight during a Senate hearing

The background: Mullin and Teamsters President. Sean M. O’Brien traded barbs both in person and online for months. Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, takes issue with O’Brien’s union. O’Brien has poked at Mullin’s business background. Channeling Elon Musk, Mullin, who is former MMA fighter, challenged O’Brien to a cage match for charity. After deeming O’Brien’s response insufficient, Mullin saw an opportunity during a Senate hearing.

What happened: Mullin confronted O’Brien during a November hearing.

It was at this point in time that Sen. Bernie Sanders, who leads the committee, intervened. Sanders repeatedly banged his gavel as the two further egged each other on. “You’re a United States senator,” Sanders exclaimed to Mullin, as the Oklahoman rose out of his seat.

The aftermath: Eventually, Mullin’s speaking time ran out, but not before Sanders had to remind him on multiple occasions that his questions should be about economic issues “not about physical confrontations.”

“We’re not here to talk about fights,” Sanders said.

Mullin, perhaps not surprisingly, later fundraised off of the confrontation.

Burchett claims McCarthy elbowed him in the back

Background: Burchett, the same Republican who predicted two of his colleagues would come to blows, happened to encounter McCarthy in a House hallway on the same day of Mullin’s hearing face-off. Burchett was one of the eight Republicans who joined Democrats to force McCarthy’s historic ouster. After his vote, Burchett told CNN that McCarthy had mocked his faith when he told then-speaker that he was praying over his decision. McCarthy denies this, but in repeated comments the once top House Republican has made clear there’s no love lost for any of the eight members who crossed him.

What happened: Burchett was talking to NPR’s Claudia Grisales when McCarthy ran into him from behind. Grisales described Burchett as stumbling as he began to process what happened. He then yelled, “Why’d you elbow me in the back, Kevin?! Hey Kevin, you got any guts?!”

The aftermath: McCarthy told CNN that he did not purposefully run into Burchett. He complained that the hallway was narrow. In later comments to reporters, he added, “If I hit somebody, they would know it. If I kidney punched someone, they would be on the ground.”

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