GOP Rep Mocks ‘Made for TV’ Drama Surrounding Ken Buck’s Early Retirement: ‘D.C. Is Just an Open Sewer’
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) told CNN that “swamp” does quite accurately capture Washington D.C., describing it as more of an “open sewer” while discussing a colleague’s retirement.
On CNN This Morning, Burchett joined Kasie Hunt and, at one point, addressed the abrupt and surprising exit from Congress by Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO). Buck had plenty of criticisms for Republicans before exiting his role in Congress. He accused Republicans of lying on behalf of Donald Trump and turning impeachment into a “social media issue.”
Burchett described Buck as a “good buddy” and a “moral, decent human being.” He suggested multiple times that there’s a “lot going on behind the scenes.”
“I would never question what he said because he is an attorney and he gets it probably a little more than I do. I’m more of a — I’m not an attorney, let’s just leave it at that,” Burchett said.
The congressman added that part of what’s “going on behind the scenes” may have to do with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO).
“This kind of puts her in a bad position, and there’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes there that have very little to do with the Constitution, although I do not question Congressman Buck’s reasons and motives for leaving,” Burchett said.
Boebert previously announced she would run to replace the retiring Buck in Colorado’s 4th District after she barely won her own in her last run. Buck, now leaving in a matter of days, sets up a special election scenario and muddies the waters for Boebert, who referred to it as a “stunt.” Boebert said she will not be a candidate in the special election to replace Buck.
On Thursday, Hunt asked Burchett if pushing Boebert out of Congress was part of Buck’s plan.
“I don’t know if that’s his intention, but there’s a lot of talk about that,” Burchett said.
The Republican joked at one point that Hunt would likely “see him as one of your colleagues very soon.”
Burchett described D.C. as an “open sewer” and the drama of Congress as a made-for-TV movie.
“This is a made-for-TV movie, and it probably won’t be on the Hallmark channel either. There’s a lot of — you know, everybody wants to call this place a swamp,” he said. “Ma’am, ‘swamp’ is a beautiful ecosystem created by God. Water’s flowing in, you got all the animals around it. This is a sewer. It all flows in, and nothing flows out. Washington D.C. is just an open sewer, and it continues to not disappoint me in that regard.”
Watch above via CNN.
