GOP looks to marginalize Cawthorn if he wins Tuesday primary
Republicans are publicly and privately rooting for
Rep. Madison Cawthorn to lose his
North Carolina primary race on Tuesday. But they're also preparing for an
alternate scenario: how to deal with the embattled freshman if he returns to
Congress after becoming a party pariah.
In private discussions,
GOP lawmakers are debating ways to keep
Cawthorn on the sidelines should he prevail in his
North Carolina reelection race, from relegating him to less favorable committees to warning the punishments could get even stiffer should his controversial antics continue, according to interviews with more than a dozen lawmakers from across the
House Republican conference.
One
GOP lawmaker affiliated with the
Trump wing of the party told they bluntly warned
Cawthorn that they would publicly call for him to be removed from the
House GOP conference if he breaks the law again.
