Throughout his time on Capitol Hill, Rep. Darrell Issa has been known to rub some people the wrong way. In one especially memorable example from 2016, then-President Barack Obama publicly chided the California Republican for spending years recklessly going after him, only to pretend to be an Obama ally when running for re-election.
But it’s not just Democrats who occasionally get annoyed with Issa.
At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, members took turns asking questions to former military officials who were involved with the operation. When Issa’s allotted time expired, Committee Chairman Michael McCaul tried to move on to the next lawmaker, only to have Issa keep talking.
It led McCaul to quietly mutter to Issa, “Go f— yourself.” (Note, the audio is a little difficult to hear, but given the language, it should probably come with a “not safe for work” warning.)
It sounds like Mike McCaul told Darrell Issa to go fuck himself in the middle of a committee hearing pic.twitter.com/7WvmjZiYiR
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) March 19, 2024
As NBC News reported, the Texas Republican who leads the panel apologized soon after.
McCaul apologized in a statement, saying, “It was a long day, and I lost my temper.” … “That is uncharacteristic of me and I apologize to Mr. Issa, who I consider a friend,” he added.
Issa laughed it off and there’s no reason to think this will lead to a larger controversy. That said, it’s not every day when a powerful committee chairman directs such coarse language at a colleague from his own party, and it was emblematic of the House GOP’s broader issues.
After all, this comes on the heels of an annual House Republican retreat — ostensibly focused on “unifying the conference“ — which most GOP members decided to skip.








