- Cawthorn faced fresh attacks from a fellow North Carolina Republican.
- Sen. Thom Tillis skewered Cawthorn for touting benefits from a infrastructure law he voted against.
- Cawthorn has weathered a string of controversies that threaten to derail his re-election bid.
Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina is facing fresh criticism over his legislative conduct — not from a Democrat, but from another North Carolina Republican.
"Don't go out in western North Carolina and say you brought broadband there when you voted against the very bill he criticized me for to get there," Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said in a Politico interview published Thursday.
Tillis also pummeled Cawthorn for what he called "temperament and judgment" issues. He listed Cawthorn's attack on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "thug" and brought up how he faces a potential insider trading investigation.
Cawthorn's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month, the North Carolina House Republican showed up at an event with a large $200,000 check of funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law. Confonted by a local activist, Cawthorne admitted he voted against the law but pushed for the federal cash.
"This particular appropriation we advocated for in the appropriations package, but the larger bill we voted against," he said.
Cawthorn is far from the only House Republican to tout benefits from a law he opposed. At least nine House Republicans have touted funding going towards projects like revamping waterways or airport redesigns, NBC News reported in January.
The strongly pro-Trump congressman has weathered a string of controversies in recent months that threaten to sink his re-election bid. He may have violated a federal conflict-of-interest law known as the STOCK Act by failing to disclose a purchase of cryptocurrency, Insider's Kimberly Leonard reported.
Police officers in North Carolina briefly detained Cawthorn for carrying a loaded handgun inside Charlotte Douglas International Airport. That was the second incident in a year, per the New York Times.
He also made bombastic claims of receiving invitations to orgies from other House Republicans. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy later told reporters that Cawthorn admitted to him the allegations were untrue.