McCarthy meets with Cawthorn over orgy, cocaine claims on podcast – reports

Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn took a rap on the knuckles from his caucus leader on Wednesday over his claims on a podcast about orgies and cocaine use among his fellow members of Congress.

Reporters spotted Cawthorn leaving the office of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday. Politico reporter Olivia Beavers tweeted a photo of Cawthorn after what she described as a 30-minute meeting.

McCarthy told CNN’s Melanie Zanona that Cawthorn admitted his comments were an exaggeration and that the North Carolina congressman had lost his trust.

“This is unacceptable. There is no evidence to this,” McCarthy told reporters on Wednesday, according to Axios reporter Alayna Treene.

The offices of McCarthy and Cawthorn did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The 26-year-old freshman congressman rankled his fellow lawmakers when he compared Congress to the Netflix show “House of Cards” during a recent appearance on the Warrior Poet Society podcast.

Asked by the podcast’s host whether the show was an accurate depiction of Washington, Cawthorn said: “The only thing that’s not accurate in that show is you could never get a piece of legislation about education passed that quickly.”

Cawthorn said he had been invited to a “sexual get-together” at the home of a member of Congress and witnessed lawmakers using cocaine.

“Then you realize they’re asking you to come to an orgy,” he said on the podcast.

Earlier this month, Cawthorn got pushback from within his party when he was caught on video calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “thug” and the Ukrainian government “evil.”

Contributing: Chelsey Cox