Comer threatens to remove Frost after Trump 'grifter' dispute

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) threatened to remove Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) from a committee meeting Tuesday following a dispute over the Florida Democrat calling President Trump a “grifter.”

“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 said during the meeting.

“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,” the Florida Representative added before being interrupted.

Shortly after, Comer asked Frost if he wanted “to revise your remark with respect to improperly identifying the president of the United States.”

“I’ll say ‘President Musk’ and ‘grifter in chief Trump,’” Frost responded.

The ranking member on the committee, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) later told Comer he didn’t “believe that Mr. Musk is protected by the rules of the House or the committee.”

“We’re looking at the — disparaging the president now,” Comer responded.

“But I don’t believe Mr. Frost disparaged the president, I believe he disparaged Mr. Musk,” Connolly responded, with more crosstalk following after and Frost saying he would “say something else.”

“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. Someone on the other side was just asking, ‘How would you feel if you called someone else from the …” Frost said before Comer cut him off.

“Hold off, hold off, Mr. Frost, hold off,” Comer said, later adding that “the chair finds the words from the gentleman from Florida are not parliamentary because they constitute personalities toward the president, which, if you sit in the House floor, that’s always uttered by the presiding officer on the House floor, you cannot disparage the president of the United States.”

More back-and-forth in the meeting occurred, with Comer later saying Frost “is barred from further participation.”

“I wanna say it’s despicable that this committee is going to silence me for bringing up —” Frost later said, before a lot of shouting could be heard and Comer told Connolly he was going to have Frost removed “if he doesn’t refrain.”

The Hill has reached out to Comer and Frosts’s offices, as well as the White House for comment.

Topics

Kremlin disputes Trump's claim about Ukraine peacekeepers

Trump said that Russian President Putin "has no problem with," peacekeepers in Ukraine, but the Kremlin contradicted those comments Tuesday.
NBC News - 18h
Trump admin removes migrants from Guantanamo Bay

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have removed deported migrants from a facility on the U.S. military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where the Trump administration brought them as ...
The Hill - 5d
‘We’ve had enough’: anger threatens Zambian football after election controversy

The Zambian FA’s president Andrew Kamanga was re-elected unopposed after eight nominees were disqualified. Zambia’s victory at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon remains one of football’s most ...
The Guardian - 4d
Trump threatens to withhold federal funds from Maine over transgender athletes

President Trump is threatening to withhold federal funds from Maine if it continues allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports in defiance of a recent executive order. ...
The Hill - 4d
Hochul says Democratic governors won't "sit idly by" as Trump threatens retaliation

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Democratic governors won't "sit idly by" as President Trump threatens retaliation if the leaders do not comply with his agenda.
CBS News - 2d
7 Florida deputies placed on leave after domestic violence dispute ends in triple homicide

Seven Broward County, Florida, deputies were placed on leave as the sheriff investigates what he called the "piss-poor" handling of an ongoing domestic violence dispute that ended in a triple ...
NBC News - 4d
Trump removes Ice chief amid apparent frustration over rate of deportations

Caleb Vitello reassigned as administration reportedly unhappy at slow rate of arrests and deportations. Donald Trump’s presidential administration has reassigned its top official at US Immigration ...
The Guardian - 4d
Trump removes Brown, names new Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman

President Trump has fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., a four-star pilot, and named Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to be the country’s next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “I want to ...
The Hill - 4d
Kremlin disputes Trump claim Russia would accept Nato peacekeeping troops in Ukraine – live

Kremlin says it has nothing to add to the foreign ministry’s position on the unacceptability of Nato peacekeepers in Ukraine. Ukraine’s presidential press service has issued a photograph showing ...
The Guardian - 15h