- GOP Rep. Tim Burchett thinks his coworkers likely have been "personally compromised."
- "Why in the world would good conservatives vote for crazy stuff?"
A Republican member of the House suggested in an interview that Russian spies have compromising tapes of some of his GOP colleagues in bed.
Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee commented in an interview Thursday with the podcast host Benny Johnson, who asked the lawmaker to elaborate on previous claims he had made about his coworkers "who are personally compromised."
"The old honeypot, the Russians do that," Burchett said. "And I'm sure members of Congress have been caught up. Why in the world would good conservatives vote for crazy stuff?"
He elaborated on how he thinks foreign spies have compromised his colleagues, describing a situation where a member of Congress is at a bar and approached by a "very attractive" man or woman who laughs at all their jokes.
"Next thing you know, you're in the motel room with 'em naked, and next thing you know, you're about to make a key vote," Burchett said. "And what happens? Some well-dressed person comes up and whispers in your ear, 'Hey man, there's tapes out on you.'"
Burchett, finishing up his fifth year in Congress, is well-known on Capitol Hill for his humor — he holds an annual bipartisan 16-minute Christmas party in his tiny office — and comments that go against the grain.
He was also one of the eight Republican representatives who voted to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy in early October.
More than a month later, at the end of November, Burchett faced a similar vote over expelling then-Rep. George Santos.
Days before the vote, Burchett told Business Insider that voting in favor of expelling Santos from Congress would be politically advantageous for him in large part due to Santos' sexual orientation.
"I mean, people don't like the fact he's gay," Burchett said.
A few short days later, he voted against expelling the embattled former New York legislator.