If there were an award for the most embarrassing member of Congress, whom would you nominate? There are likely several options. And maybe if there were such an award, some of those potential candidates would quit trying so hard to win it.
What should be the criteria for choosing a “Most Embarrassing Member of Congress”? Here are mine.
First, the person must make a fool of himself or herself with some frequency. We all make mistakes, but we don’t all make fools of ourselves on a regular basis. Some members of Congress do.
Second, the person never seems to realize he’s embarrassing himself and those around him.
Third, he defends his acts, even boasts of them in the media and in fundraising letters, no matter how foolish they are, often asserting that he is right and that others are the real fools for not recognizing it.
Finally, the member never apologizes for embarrassing his colleagues.
But someone should not be considered the most embarrassing member just because he or she advocates certain policy positions. For example, I disagree with just about every policy pushed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), but he is a consistent, articulate defender of his views.
So, who could be some potential candidates for the most embarrassing member?
One obvious candidate would have been Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.). His lies and apparent criminal activity, along with his smug responses to the criticisms, became so blatant and over the top that Congress finally took the very unusual step of expelling him. (New York Magazine has a list of what it says is “every single lie told by George Santos.”) He was a total embarrassment, to both Congress and especially the GOP.
A current possible candidate is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). She has long been criticized for her antics and views. The comedy program “The Daily Show” even produced a 15-minute compilation of some of her more embarrassing moments. The program had a lot of material.
At one point, her antics drove then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to release a statement rebuking her: “Past comments from and endorsed by Marjorie Taylor Greene on school shootings, political violence, and antisemitic conspiracy theories do not represent the values or beliefs of the House Republican Conference.”
And she took the lead in the recent failed effort to dump Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). Ironically, only 10 Republicans out of 217 voted with Greene. It’s really hard to claim you are somehow expressing Republicans’ dissatisfaction with Speaker Johnson when only 5 percent of fellow elected-GOPers agree.
As runner-up, I’d suggest Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), whom the Department of Justice investigated over sex-trafficking allegations and having sex with a minor, among other things. Gaetz’s ally, Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg, in 2021 pleaded guilty to six federal crimes and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The Department of Justice decided earlier this year not to charge Gaetz with sex trafficking because of concerns about the credibility of some of the witnesses.
Gaetz was also the ringleader in de-speakering McCarthy, though he opposed Johnson’s ouster.
There are also some Democratic candidates for the most embarrassing member. Let’s start with Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.). On Sept. 30, as the House was getting ready to vote on a funding bill to prevent a government shutdown, Bowman pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building, which triggered an evacuation and postponed the vote.
As The Hill reported, “Bowman…has insisted that he activated the alarm by accident, mistakenly thinking it would open a door he was trying to exit while rushing to cast a vote on the bill.” No one believes that nonsense, including law enforcement. He was charged with a misdemeanor, pled guilty and paid a $1,000 fine. Remember, embarrassing members defend their stupid acts. Congress later voted to censure Bowman.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is another Democratic embarrassment. She has often made statements that are seen as very antisemitic and then defends them. Her assertions led House Republicans to vote to remove her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. But her comments have also divided Democrats.
Congress has several ways to punish its members’ bad behavior: censure (the least serious), removal from one or more committees or the party or, ultimately, expelling from Congress. But those votes can be difficult because they are public.
If there were to be a vote over the most embarrassing member of Congress, it should be among the members and by secret ballot. That way, party members wouldn’t feel as compelled to defend their colleagues who are doing the indefensible.
Would it change the behavior of those really embarrassing members? Hard to know. Probably not George Santos. But while some of those censured or punished by the opposing party take it as a badge honor, a secret, bipartisan vote naming someone the most embarrassing member of Congress might be seen as, well, embarrassing.
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas. Follow him on X@MerrillMatthews.