A House Oversight Committee hearing got heated Tuesday, with Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky threatening to have Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida removed from the room for what Comer called a breach in decorum.
Comer, the committee’s chair, did so after Frost criticized President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s approach to cutting government spending. “People like the grifter in chief, Trump, and President Musk are openly using their public offices to enrich themselves to the tune of billions of dollars,” Frost alleged.
Comer then said he was “going to have the sergeant-at-arms remove him [Frost] if he doesn’t refrain.”
Frost continued: “So if we want to look at waste, fraud and abuse — which I’m down to do — why is there complete silence on the other side of the aisle about looking at the complete grifter that is the president of the United States and the richest man on the earth? ... Why don’t we investigate the real corruption?”
Frost was quickly interrupted by several Republican members of the committee, and Comer soon asked him: “Would you like to revise your remark, with respect to improperly identifying the president of the United States?”
Frost eventually agreed to revise what Comer characterized as a “disparaging comment,” telling the committee: “President Musk and the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who is engaged in grifting of the American people, often use their public offices to enrich themselves.”
After Republicans continued to object, Frost said: “I can say that Trump is grifting. What I will withdraw is calling him grifter in chief. That is what I will withdraw.”
The revision didn’t appear to please Comer, who sustained a point of order and ordered the “words in question” from the record. Frost also was barred from further participation.
But tensions continued to rise.
“I want to say it’s despicable that this committee is going to silence me,” Frost said as his microphone was turned off. Comer then said he was “going to have the sergeant-at-arms remove him [Frost] if he doesn’t refrain.”
On Wednesday’s “Morning Joe,” former Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Comer’s threat to remove Frost had infuriated her.
“This is really, really bad,” she said. “What they’re saying is, if you criticize the president of the United States, as an elected member of Congress, we will silence you.”
Frost later addressed the incident on social media, posting a clip of the exchange on X and writing: “James Comer can hide behind the Sergeant in Arms and try to have me removed, arrested, and silenced.. But that’s not going to stop me from calling out Donald Trump’s grift and his bulls---.”