The war of words between Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Chief of Staff John Kelly has yet taken another turn, with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy speaking out about the spat. McCarthy zinged Gutierrez’s ‘disgraceful’ attack, calling for the Democrat lawmaker to apologize to Kelly and his family.
.@RepGutierrez should apologize to General Kelly and his family for his disgraceful comments last week. pic.twitter.com/hOsI92BT5R
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) September 13, 2017
The Hill reports:
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday lashed out at Rep. Luis Gutierrez, calling on the Illinois Democrat to apologize for disparaging White House chief of staff John Kelly, a retired four-star general.
“General Kelly has served his country in the Marines and he is serving his country again in this administration. He is truly an American patriot,” McCarthy told reporters at a news conference in the Capitol.
“Now what is disgraceful is to attack the character of such an honorable man who has dedicated his life serving this country,” McCarthy continued.
“I believe Rep. Gutierrez owes General Kelly and his family an apology.”
It was a rare sight to see the No. 2 GOP leader publicly call out another House member from the leadership podium without any prompting from the media.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) has responded to John Kelly after being called out for saying the Chief of Staff is a ‘disgrace to the uniform.’ According to Gutierrez, the retired four-star Marine general isn’t actually a general, rather he’s a politician.
Video Credit: Fox Insider
Fox Insider reports:
Gutierrez said Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general, is “a politician, OK, not a general.”
“What could be more mean and more vicious than to say ‘you’ve got six months to pack up…and leave the United States’,” Gutierrez said.
“I don’t see [him wearing] a uniform,” Gutierrez told the Washington Post. “He’s a politician who works for Donald Trump.”
He said that the retired officer “did nothing” when Trump impugned Vietnam War veteran Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) last year, saying he preferred soldiers who “weren’t captured.”
In an exclusive email to Fox News, Kelly zinged Gutierrez after the amnesty-loving lawmaker called him a ‘disgrace to the uniform.’
Fox News reports:
In an email to Fox News late Sunday, Kelly responded by saying Congress did “nothing” to help so-called Dreamers when they had the chance.
“As far as the congressman and other irresponsible members of congress are concerned, they have the luxury of saying what they want as they do nothing and have almost no responsibility,” Kelly said. “They can call people liars but it would be inappropriate for me to say the same thing back at them. As my blessed mother used to say ‘empty barrels make the most noise.’”
He concluded, “The congressman has a right to his opinion.”
