Republican Rep. Tim Burchett (TN-02) said calling D.C. "the Swamp" is not accurate because that would mean that it's useful to its inhabitants, and a more appropriate term would be the "sewer."
Following a House Administration Committee hearing on Wednesday about a bill that would ban members of Congress from insider stock trading, Burchett slammed his colleagues and said they were committing a scam on the American people, and they know it.
"You know, everybody talks about this place being a dadgum swamp. It's NOT a swamp.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 19, 2025
A swamp is something cool God created. It filters water, animal life lives and flourishes around it.
[Washington DC] is a SEWER & it needs to STOP."
BOOYAH BURCHETTEpic.twitter.com/bd3AHQeeIH
READ MORE: The Pelosis: Stock Traders Extraordinaire, or Just Crooks?
MORE: Again? New Bill Would Ban Insider Stock Trading by Congress
"This is a fist fight, folks," Burchett said. "I mean, everybody talks about this place being a dadgum swamp. It's not a swamp. A swamp is something cool God created. It filters water, animal life lives and flourishes around it."
“[Washington, D.C.] is a sewer. This is created by man, [and] it needs to stop," he added. "For years Congress has been using hard-working taxpayers' money to get rich, Dadgum, it's got to stop. America knows what the heck is going on."
Burchett said this isn't even about Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi (CA-12) and her well-known, miraculous stock trading moves that have made her monstrously rich. The congressman. said she's just part of a much larger problem, saying she's "not even in the top ten."
"This is pathetic, folks," Burchett said. "We all know what's going on. Congress knows what the hell's going on, and it needs to stop. This body has been riching itself on the taxpayer's dime for too dadgum long."
"This place is crooked. It's as crooked as a dog's leg," he added. "That's an old East Tennessee saying, but it's the truth, and it needs to stop. When you see a member of this body making four or five, six hundred trades a year. You know something's wrong."
SEE: Hoo Boy: Tim Burchett Delivers Mic Drop Response to 'Gotcha' Question About Trump Nat Sec Team
ALSO: Friday News Dump: Tim Burchett Says He Will Introduce Legislation to Codify Trump's Executive Orders
The GOP representative warned that even if the House were to manage to pass a bill reining in stock trading, there's no way it will get past the Senate.
"This is a scam that's being played on the American public… let's give America a reason to trust Congress for once in our miserable lives," Burchett said, pointing out that this should be a bipartisan effort and they should all be united on it.
During the hearing, Republican House Administration Chairman, Rep. Bryan Steil (WI-1) called out former Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr.
.@RepBryanSteil calls out former Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr: “On February 13, 2020... the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee called his stockbroker and sold all but one equity in his entire portfolio, to the tune of $1.6 million.” pic.twitter.com/TJDs6SaDwP
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 19, 2025
"On February 13, 2020... the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee called his stockbroker and sold all but one equity in his entire portfolio, for a tune of $1.6 million," Steil said.
Steil later wrote on X that, "My goal is simple: Ensure that no lawmaker is profiting off insider information while serving in Congress."
My goal is simple: Ensure that no lawmaker is profiting off insider information while serving in Congress. pic.twitter.com/tCyg7Jm3Rn
— Bryan Steil (@RepBryanSteil) November 19, 2025
It's not the first time Congress has tried to end insider stock trading by members, as my RedState colleague Ward Clark reported. Who knows? Maybe this time it will happen.
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