Eric Swalwell Responds to Reported Clash With Kevin McCarthy

Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell appeared to acknowledge reports of a clash between him and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy on Friday by sharing a meme.

Swalwell was responding to a Twitter user who shared a story from The Daily Beast, which had reported that the Democrat called McCarthy a "p****" during a confrontation on the House floor.

McCarthy and Swalwell both represent districts in California and the Democrat has been strongly critical of the Republican leader, who removed Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee shortly after becoming speaker.

Swalwell was responding to Twitter user @JoJoFromJerz, who appeared to be reacting to The Daily Beast's report about the congressman's clash with McCarthy.

"Wait wait... Eric Swalwell called Kevin McCarthy a p****?!?? To HIS FACE?!!!" she tweeted, adding: "@ericswalwell is a friggin' beast!!"

Swalwell responded with a gif featuring Walter White from the hit TV show Breaking Bad that included flashing text that read "You're God damn right."

Newsweek has reached out to McCarthy's office and Swalwell's office via email for comment.

According to The Daily Beast, Democrats on Capitol Hill have been eager to recount clashes between Swalwell and McCarthy that took place on June 21 and June 22 when the Democrat allegedly called the speaker the expletive.

Swalwell reportedly confronted McCarthy on June 21 after the Republican-led House voted to censure his Democratic colleague, Representative Adam Schiff, calling him a "weak, weak man."

McCarthy's office did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast about the alleged incident and Swalwell told the outlet by phone that he would not discuss it with the press but he did not deny that the incident took place.

The following day, there was another alleged clash between the men, according to two unnamed members of the House who spoke to the news website. The speaker reportedly confronted Swalwell about his comments the previous day.

Following a back and forth, McCarthy is alleged to have said: "Call me a p**** again, and I'll kick your ass."

"You. Are. A. P****," Swalwell responded, according to both lawmakers who spoke to The Daily Beast.

In January, McCarthy removed Swalwell and Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee, citing Swalwell's association with a Chinese spy who reportedly helped to place at least one intern in his office and assisted with fundraising.

Swalwell cut off all ties to the individual, known as Fang Fang or Christine Fang, around 2015, after federal investigators gave him what is known as a defensive briefing about the matter. The congressman has not been accused of wrongdoing.

In December 2020, his office issued a statement to Axios saying: "Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person—whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn't seen in nearly six years—to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story."