During a House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting, a hot mic picked up an unexpected exchange between two Republican lawmakers.
The incident occurred when Republican Texas Rep. Michael McCaul told Republican California Rep. Darrell Issa to “go f*ck himself” after Issa exceeded his allotted time questioning former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.
Representative Mike McCaul just told Darrell Issa to go fuck himself in the middle of a hearing.
McCaul sold up to $500K of Nvidia stock in November.
I’d be on a short temper too.
— Quiver Quantitative (@QuiverQuant) March 19, 2024
The heated comment came during a discussion about the botched withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021.
McCaul, who chairs the committee, interrupted Issa and reminded him that his time had expired. Issa then made a joke about being the “closing act” before McCaul’s outburst.
Later, McCaul issued a statement apologizing for his outburst and admitting that it was uncharacteristic of him. He also referred to Issa as a friend and regretted his behavior.
On the other hand, Issa took the incident in good humor and tweeted, “I’ve been called worse … and by people I don’t like!”
Hey @RepMcCaul — I’ve been called worse … and by people I don’t like!
— Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) March 19, 2024
It is not surprising that emotions ran high during this hearing. The suicide bombing at the Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate, which killed 13 American service members, was a tragic and devastating event.
It has left many families and loved ones of the fallen soldiers grieving and seeking answers.
One of those families is Gold Star father Steve Nikoui, whose son was killed in the attack. Just a few weeks ago, Nikoui was arrested and charged with disrupting President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address after he stood up and yelled at the president.
This shows the deep pain and anger that many are feeling towards the current administration and their handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
