House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., that he had "lost confidence" in the congressman after comments alleging lawmakers took part in orgies and drug use.
Cawthorn claimed on a recent podcast that colleagues had invited him to sexual get-togethers and that he watched at least one fellow lawmaker consume cocaine, claiming that the same member was involved in anti-addiction efforts.
McCarthy on Wednesday said he had spoken with Cawthorn.
"There's a lot of different things that can happen. But I just told him he's lost my trust. He's going to have to earn it back," McCarthy told reporters after being asked whether Cawthorn could face consequences for his actions, including losing his committee positions, Politico reported.
"I mean, he's got a lot of members very upset."
The leader said Cawthorn described the cocaine incident differently than he did in the Warrior Poet Society podcast. Instead of a lawmaker, Cawthorn told McCarthy he believes "he thinks he saw maybe a staffer in a parking garage maybe 100 yards away," and that Cawthorn told him "he doesn't know what cocaine is," Politico reported.
"It is just frustrating. There is no evidence behind his statements," said McCarthy, who added that more conversations with Cawthorn could be coming.
McCarthy said the congressman needed to start doing "certain things" professionally and in "his own life as well."
"You can't make statements like that as a member of Congress, it affects everybody else and the country as a whole," McCarthy said.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., joined McCarthy in meeting with Cawthorn on Wednesday morning.
The GOP's top two House leaders "expressed real concern with some of the things that he's done recently," Scalise said, Politico reported. "And obviously, the ball's in his court in terms of how to respond. But we were very clear with the concerns we had — and a lot of other members too."
House Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., told Politico that he planned to talk with Cawthorn as some members of the caucus had suggested kicking out Cawthorn.
Less than two weeks ago, McCarthy criticized Cawthorn by saying the lawmaker was "wrong" to call Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "thug."
Cawthorn recently told supporters in North Carolina that Zelenskyy was a "thug" and that the Ukrainian government "is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies," WRAL reported.