Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw issued an apology for aggressively labeling a number of his colleagues as “terrorists” as part of the negotiations that resulted in the recently confirmed election to the role of House Speaker of Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
Crenshaw shared his apology as part of an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“Look, things get heated and things get said. Obviously, to people who took offense by that, it’s pretty obvious that it’s meant as a turn of phrase,” stated Crenshaw.
On #CNNSOTU with @jaketapper, @RepDanCrenshaw discusses the GOP infighting that led to the stalled House speaker vote. https://t.co/aORnzxukRG
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) January 8, 2023
“I’ve got pretty thick skin. I’m called awful, vile things by the very same wing of the party that I was fighting at that moment. So I was a little taken aback by the sensitivity of it. But to the extent that I have colleagues that were offended by it, I sincerely apologize to them. I don’t want them to think I actually believe they’re terrorists. It’s clearly a turn of phrase that you use in an intransigent negotiation,” he stated.
A former Navy SEAL, Crenshaw made reference to the various 20 GOP holdouts standing against McCarthy’s ascension to House Speaker as “terrorists.” He would later choose t double down on his previous statements but expressed that they were not supposed to actually be taken literally.
“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,’” Crenshaw said.
— Dylan Wells (@dylanewells) January 4, 2023
“It’s a figure of speech. People need to lighten up and grow some f***ing thick skin,” he stated. “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.”
Crenshaw made sure to hurl criticism at the tactics being used by his colleagues and challenged them to finally step up and agree to make McCarthy the House Speaker.
“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,’” stated Crenshaw.
Crenshaw also called out the GOP holdouts as part of an interview with Guy Benson on Fox News Radio this past Wednesday.
“They had no plan. They have some list of demands that mostly have been met,” he stated. “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?”
McCarthy did end up gathering the requisite votes from the GOP House majority early Saturday morning.
