Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has confirmed some details of the reported argument with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in the congressional women’s bathroom.
Earlier this week, the Daily Beast reported that on Jan. 3, the first day of this year’s Congress, two far-right lawmakers got into a shouting match in the Speaker’s lobby women’s room just off the House floor, citing multiple sources. According to the report, Greene came out of the stall and confronted Boebert because he received support from Kevin McCarthy during his re-election campaign but refused to vote for him in the House speaker election. Boebert told him, “Don’t be mean,” and “walked in like a little schoolboy,” a source told the Daily Beast.
Neither woman would comment to The Daily Beast on the report.
However, during an interview on the conservative radio show “The Dana Show,” the quote was sent online On Wednesday, Boebert volunteered some details about the exchange.
“So I’m very happy that the story came out because I was quoted,” Boebert said. “Yes, we talked in the congresswoman’s bathroom. I was there with her.” [Rep.] Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.). And you know, people are confused about what’s going on in the speaker race. We haven’t voted for Kevin McCarthy for days, and we haven’t received the concessions we want.
He said Greene approached him and started “getting nasty.”
“No one else has been rude about it. Everyone has been very professional,” he added. “And when he started chasing me, I looked at him and said, ‘Don’t be so bad.'”
Host Dana Loesch jumped in, noting that the woman was once an ally. “You’re really like BFFs there, aren’t you?” he asked.
Boebert seemed to dismiss the idea.
“No one is against him, we travel in the same circles, have the same policy views on many things – not everything – but many things,” he said. “But yeah, I looked at him, said, ‘I don’t have time for this, so don’t be so bad.’ And that’s what my grandmother told me when I was a little girl.”
Quoting Wednesday’s online line, Boebert tweeted: “That’s good. Don’t be ugly,” which caused confusion among Twitter users who noted that the platitude seemed to be the opposite of their MO.
Temperatures have been rising between Greene and Boebert in recent weeks, and this isn’t the first time tensions have surfaced publicly. Last month, Greene slammed Boebert on Twitter for refusing to support McCarthy’s speaker, accusing him of “high school drama” and claiming he only won re-election by a hair. Boebert, for his part, has repeatedly mocked Greene for embracing absurd conspiracy theories about Jewish space lasers.
Greene, recently from the far-right bloc of allies, enthusiastically backed McCarthy’s leadership bid, effectively guaranteeing a return to committee duties after being removed in 2021 for hate speech.