
House Republican leadership recently took action to bar one of their own members from international trips, according to a new report.
Punchbowl News reported Wednesday that GOP leaders decided to ban Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) from traveling for three months due to an "alcohol-related episode" in Mexico this summer. In details laid out by Punchbowl reporter Andrew Desiderio, the original incident took place while Crenshaw and other Republicans were on an official Congressional delegation (CODEL) visit to Mexico in August, and Crenshaw was "having drinks with a group of Mexican officials."
"One Mexican official cracked a crude joke that made a woman present uncomfortable. Crenshaw toasted the remarks," Desiderio wrote on his X account.
Following the August CODEL, Crenshaw reportedly met with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Intelligence Committee chairman Rick Crawford. (R-Ark.) Desiderio's sources told him that the meeting grew "heated," and that Crawford apparently wanted Crenshaw kicked off of the prestigious committee.
Johnson reportedly didn't strip Crenshaw of his seat on the committee, though the Texas Republican was banned from international travel for 90 days. Crenshaw's cartel task force was also disbanded.
Desiderio further reported that Crenshaw and Crawford were squabbling over appropriations for counterintelligence programs in the annual legislation to fund intelligence agencies. Crawford had been pushing for additional funding, and was reportedly "frustrated with Crenshaw’s lack of support for the plan." Those funds were ultimately included in the version of the bill that reached the House floor.
Click here to read Punchbowl's full report (subscription required).

AlterNet
America News
KOIN News
The Hill
Local News in Virginia
Raw Story
Reuters US Domestic