Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) announced on Tuesday that he is filing an ethics complaint against Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for allegedly elbowing or shoving Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) on Capitol Hill. The announcement comes after it was reported that the two lawmakers got into a physical altercation earlier in the day.

In the complaint, which Gaetz published on his website and on X, formerly Twitter, the lawmaker insisted that “this incident deserves immediate and swift investigation by the Ethics Committee.”

This Congress has seen a substantial increase in breaches of decorum unlike anything we have seen since the pre-Civil War era. I myself have been a victim of outrageous conduct on the House floor as well, but nothing like an open and public assault on a Member, committed by another Member. The rot starts at the top.

While Rep. Burchett is within his rights to decline to press charges against Rep. McCarthy, your Committee does have a duty to investigate breaches of the binding Code of Official Conduct, whose first rule is that “A Member… shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.” There is substantial evidence that Rep. McCarthy breached this duty.

RedState’s Neil McCabe reported on the encounter between McCarthy and Burchett:

NPR Capitol Hill reporter Claudia Grisales, in a series of X-posts, gave this account, which has been edited for continuity and punctuation.  

While talking to Rep. Tim Burchett after the GOP conference meeting, former Speaker McCarthy walked by with his detail and McCarthy shoved Burchett. Burchett lunged towards me. I thought it was a joke, it was not. And a chase ensued. Burchett's back was to McCarthy and his detail walking by in the hallway, then the lunge.

Burchett responded jokingly as McCarthy kept walking, "Sorry Kevin didn't mean to elbow --" then seriously yelled, "Why'd you elbow me in the back Kevin?! Hey Kevin, you got any guts!?"

Burchett then looked back at me and said, "Jerk," referring to McCarthy. I asked if he had done that before, Burchett said "No." That's when the chase ensued. Burchett took off after McCarthy and his detail. I chased behind with my mic. Burchett yelled after catching up to McCarthy, "Hey Kevin, why'd you walk behind me and elbow me in the back?"

KM: "I didn't elbow you in the back."

Burchett: "You got no guts, you did so, the reporter said it right there, what kind of chicken move is that. You got no guts, you did so--the reporter said it right there, what kind of chicken move is that? You're pathetic man, you are so pathetic."

Burchett starts to walk away from McCarthy, tells me, "What a jerk," and then yells back; 'You need security Kevin!'"

Burchett tells me that's the first point of "communication" with McCarthy since Burchett voted for McCarthy's ouster as speaker last month: "That's just it" for communication since ouster vote, "He's just a jerk. He's just a childish little." Burchett adds: "Did you just see that?" he asks in disbelief. I'm stunned, too."

Have NEVER seen this on Capitol Hill:

While talking to @RepTimBurchett after the GOP conference meeting, former @SpeakerMcCarthy walked by with his detail and McCarthy shoved Burchett. Burchett lunged towards me. I thought it was a joke, it was not. And a chase ensued...

— Claudia Grisales (@cgrisales) November 14, 2023

This development is the latest in the feud between Gaetz and McCarthy, who was House Speaker until Gaetz led a successful effort to remove him from the position.

During an interview with CNN, Burchett lashed out at the former speaker, calling him a "bully" and recounting the incident. “Now he’s the type of guy that when you’re a kid would throw a rock over the fence and run home and hide behind his mama's skirt," he told host Manu Raju.

McCarthy has denied deliberately elbowing Burchett during a conversation with the news outlet. "I didn't shove or elbow him. It's a tight hallway," he said.

“If I hit somebody, they would know it,” McCarthy continued. “If I kidney punched someone, they would be on the ground."