Each class has its clown, and in the House GOP, Rep. Tim Burchett has become the clown par excellence.
The Tennessee Republican complemented Rep. Kelly Armstrong’s (R-N.D.) wife’s appearance while making fun of her husband’s. He took off his glasses, handed them to her, and said, “Ma’am, you need these more than I,” when they first met in 2018.
His last name is pronounced “birch” like the tree and “crap” like the thing you had for breakfast this morning, he reportedly told someone who had mispronounced it. Burchett was the last to get onto the bus after visiting then-President Donald Trump at the White House, saying they needed to get off because he had just taken the baby Jesus from the Nativity scene (he had not actually done so).
Rep. Steve Womack declared, “With Billy Long departing from Congress, the conference is looking for a new class clown” (R-Ark.). “And Tim Burchett is my nomination,” He is really erratic. He says the most absurd stuff.
Burchett is one of the more approachable and candid members, and he often expresses opinions to media that most politicians would battle to keep quiet. Despite his conservative voting record, his witty personality has won him admirers on both sides of the political spectrum at a time when inter-party ties in the House are becoming increasingly unusual. When questioned about his unusually impulsive style, he responded that his East Tennessee constituents “don’t care about that stuff.”
“I’m not serious about myself. One day before Christmas Eve, Burchett stated in an interview, “I take the job seriously.
Others concurred. Burchett provided numerous humorous moments for GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, who also lauded him for his dedication to his constituents. Burchett “uses that ‘aw shucks,’ but he’s quite brilliant,” the man claimed.
McCarthy stated, “He has the capacity to take a serious subject, lighten the atmosphere, while yet making his point.
Burchett invited the press, coworkers, and staff to a holiday party this month with the promise of “maybe” some refreshments. The event, which did last 15 minutes, included a PB&J sandwich stand, a “charcuterie” board made by Burchett by sprinkling cheese whiz on Ritz crackers, and Christmas music provided by Texas GOP Representatives. Brian Babin and Louie Gohmert playing their guitars.
Additionally, he utilises his quips as an inoffensive way to rant about Hill dynamics, even though his comedic character occasionally has a tendency to overwhelm his message. He doesn’t like the hierarchies that determine, for instance, who gets promoted to leadership positions or gets coveted committee positions, which frequently entail ties to party officials, fundraising, and general schmoozing.
Burchett added, “I get angry with the whole system. I’ve approached McCarthy about places on other panels, like the House Intelligence Committee. “I feel frustrated because I don’t generate enough money or kiss enough butt to advance in conference. There are undoubtedly some people who, based only on that, ought to be in certain positions but aren’t. And I detest lost opportunities.
In tight circumstances, he also tries to bring humour, with varying degrees of success. In a contentious exchange earlier this month in a conference-wide meeting, when some of his colleagues were unhappy that McCarthy allies were receiving more time from their colleagues to speak in support of his speakership quest, he evoked both laughs and cringes.
Burchett walked up to the podium and criticised their weekly conference calls, calling them useless sessions where no one ever learns anything. He also advised Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who was delegating who got to speak when, to go home to his wife and children if he wanted to be humiliated by a woman. Some people found the comedy amusing, while others thought that targeting the top female Republican leader went too far with the prank.
Generally speaking, Burchett’s Capitol Hill colleagues have the impression that he is the type of person who can get away with remarks that the others couldn’t.
He says whatever the hell he wants, and it’s possible for others to take offence. He didn’t give a flip,” claimed Republican Representative Mark Green, who serves alongside Burchett in the Tennessee delegation. And he has reached the stage when others are taking it away from him. There would be a [favourable] article about me if I said that.
There are numerous incidents that support Green’s assertion. Burchett refers to him as his “favourite Jew after Jesus,” according to Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.). Armstrong also claims that after making sure Burchett’s chief of staff was okay after he was struck by a scooter, he and a few others gave the chief a cape, whistle, and helmet that had Burchett’s affectionate moniker for his top employee: “Big Sexy.”
Burchett’s gags occasionally seem utterly arbitrary. He approached Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), a first-term legislator, last year and announced that purple was his favourite colour. She was wearing a purple ribbon at the time to draw attention to the opioid problem. He claimed that although he had grown up using purple sheets, his mother wanted to get rid of them when he was 12 years old after a young gerbil chewed holes in them.
He cried, “No, Momma, not my purple sheets!” as he recalled the incident to Dean, whom Burchett claimed he had just met.
The Tennessee Republican isn’t deliberately cultivating his image, and he’s not wearing penny loafers and button-down shirts like other lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Burchett himself wasn’t particularly concerned about jokes being shared publicly; rather, Burchett’s coworkers were, out of worry about poor judgement or unfavourable public perception.
He strolls around the Capitol wearing the same tan-brown Carhartt jacket (don’t start your friends on the reports that Sen.-elect John Fetterman [D-Pa.] has been dubbed as Congress’ Carhartt ambassador), giving out fist-bumps to friends, checking in on strangers and scandalised colleagues in a Holden Caulfield manner, talking about how much he loves his wife and daughter, and haphazardly striking up conversations about when
And while his voting history is similar to that of the House Freedom Caucus, his connections with Democrats and Republicans are very different. The Tennessean reported that after Burchett informed Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he was praying for her husband following the brutal attack at Pelosi’s San Francisco home, they shared a public embrace. Additionally, he is well known for shaking hands with progressive Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), an association that his GOP colleagues claim will alienate other members from the party’s base voters.
He wants his connections with Democrats to continue, though. He recalls stating the following three objectives to now-former Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass. ):
“I want to sprint down South Beach with Donna Shalala, the former representative. I want to get out with AOC in the Bronx. She might reside in the Bronx, but I’m not sure. I haven’t visited New York,” Burchett admitted. “And I stated that I want to have a party at the Kennedy compound.”
