Rep. James Comer (R-KY) is making headlines for his outrage at Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), who called Donald Trump the “grifter-in-chief.” Comer cut the Democrat’s mic, banning him from speaking at the hearing and threatening to have him escorted out of the room while shouting, “Get out! Get out!” at him. His fury starkly contrasts with how he reacted to Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who shouted slurs repeatedly at a hearing earlier this month.

At a House Oversight hearing yesterday, Rep. Frost was speaking about how the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is not a real federal executive department, are pushing a budget measure that could involve massive cuts to Medicaid, which provides health care coverage to over 70 million people.

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“You want to talk about making cuts to things like Medicaid, which, by the way, over 35 percent of all the children in this country are covered under Medicaid, over 100,000 people in my district are covered under Medicaid,” said Frost at the hearing. “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.”

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“So if we want to look at waste, fraud, and abuse, which I’m down to do, why is there a 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, which is looking into things like Social Security and different things like that?” he continued. “Why don’t we investigate the real corruption?”

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) accused Frost of being out of order and asked for his statements to be stricken from the record. Comer, the committee chair, took the request seriously.

“Would you like to revise your remark with respect to improperly identifying the president of the United States?” Comer asked Frost.

“I will say President Musk and Grifter-in-Chief Trump,” Frost said.

“Mr. Chairman, point of order: if I wanted to challenge someone to a fight, they would know it. Thank you,” Mace interjected for unknown reasons.

“This is an extra fundraising video for her,” someone muttered on a hot mic.

Comer insisted Frost retract his accusation that Trump is a “grifter,” saying that House rules for decorum ban insulting the president of the United States. But Frost pointed out that Republicans in the House spent years calling former President Joe Biden “corrupt.”

“Take down his words!” Mace shouted.

“I can say that Trump is grifting,” Frost concluded. “What I will withdraw is calling him grifter-in-chief. That is what I will withdraw.”

Comer, his voice cracking, ruled against Frost, saying that his words would be stricken from the record. After some procedural back-and-forth on the committee, Comer cut Frost’s mic while Frost continued to shout that he was being unfairly silenced. That’s when Comer threatened to call security on Frost.

“Mr. Ranking Member, I’m going to have the sergeant at arms remove him if he doesn’t refrain,” Comer said.

“Get out! Get out!” Comer shouted at Frost.

Comer’s actions here starkly contrast to how he handled Rep. Mace shouting slurs earlier this month at another House Oversight Committee hearing.

Mace was giving a speech about federal spending she doesn’t like when she brought up a grant to support transgender people in Guatemala.

“Does this advance the interests of American citizens, paying for tr***ies in Guatemala to the tune of $2 million?” she said, knowing that “tr***y” is considered an anti-trans slur because she has used it frequently on social media and had it pointed out to her many times.

A Democrat then called a parliamentary inquiry into her use of the slur, and Mace got mad.

“Tr***y! Tr***y! Tr***y!” she barked at him. “I don’t really care! You want penises in women’s bathrooms, and I’m not gonna have it!”

Democrats asked Comer to have Mace’s words removed from the record since she was literally shouting slurs during a House committee hearing, but Comer acted like he didn’t even know what was going on, saying that he’s “not up to date on my politically correct LGBTQ terminology, we’ll look into that and get back with you on that.”

“I don’t know what’s offensive and what’s not,” he claimed languidly.

CONNOLLY: The gentlelady has used a phrase that is considered a slur in the LGBTQ community NANCY MACE: Tranny tranny tranny, I don't really care, you want penises in women's bathrooms

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 5, 2025 at 5:13 PM

During the hearing yesterday, as committee members voted on the parliamentary inquiry into Rep. Frost, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) brought up another instance where Comer didn’t seem to care all that much about “decorum” because Donald Trump’s name wasn’t involved. Crockett pointed out that Rep. Mace had threatened to beat her up in January in a House Oversight Committee hearing, and Comer didn’t kick her out.

She was referring to a January 14 hearing where Crockett brought up transgender rights and accused Mace of using anti-trans rhetoric to raise money.

“Somebody’s campaign coffers are struggling right now,” Crockett said, “so she’s going to keep saying ‘trans trans trans.’”

“Child listen…” Crockett said, and that set Mace off.

“I’m no child! Do not call me a child! I’m no child!” Mace shouted, talking over Crockett. “Don’t even start! I’m a grown woman! I’m 47 years old! I’ve broken more glass ceilings than you ever have.”

“Mr. Chairman, I am reclaiming my time,” Crockett said to try to get Mace to respect the rules of the hearing. The chair, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), called for “order, please” as Mace kept ranting.

“I am not a child! I am not a child! If you wanna take it outside, we can do that,” Mace said before finally calming down.

Crockett: Somebody’s campaign coffers are struggling right now so she’s going to keep saying trans trans trans.. Child listen Mace: I am no child! Do not call me a child. I am a grown woman. If you want to take it outside

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) January 14, 2025 at 10:09 PM

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