Democrat Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego said Thursday he had to physically restrain himself during a heated exchange with House Speaker Mike Johnson.
In an interview on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" on Wednesday, Johnson defended his refusal to swear in a Democratic member until the government reopens. Gallego posted a video on X firing back at Johnson and his remarks, calling him a "liar" and accusing him of holding the member's swearing-in "hostage" for political leverage.
"No, I didn't change my terms. You can look at that video. In slow mo, watch Ruben Gallego's body language. He's folding his arms. He's very uncomfortable. He's not telling you the truth. This doesn't have anything whatsoever to do with Epstein. They try to make everything about Epstein. This is about the House not being in regular session because the Democrats and the senators decided to shut everything down," Johnson told host Jake Tapper when asked about his encounter with Gallego.
Reacting to the interview, Gallego didn't hold back.
"He's such a fucking liar. And what a creep. He's just telling what I'm thinking. I literally told him what I'm thinking. He is absolutely holding Adelita Grijalva hostage so that way she can't be the 218th vote on the discharge petition. That's it. It's just that simple," Gallego said.
Gallego said he had to hold himself back during a tense exchange with Johnson.
"His reasons keep on changing. I think he gets away with the press because they don't actually push him on it, but I did yesterday, and he should be happy I had my arms folded. There's a reason why Marines fold their arms. It's because it's a way to make sure that we restrain ourselves," Gallego said.
Marine Corps manuals and U.S. law enforcement de-escalation guidelines do not describe folded arms as a restraint technique. Instead, experts in body language interpret the gesture as defensive or closed-off, while official training typically encourages open, visible hand positions to project calm and control.
Johnson's communications team quickly responded online, with Edgar A. Barrios from the speaker's rapid response team posting on X that instead of voting to reopen the government, Gallego had time to "stage a failed publicity stunt," fail to fundraise off it," "record a second-rate video," and "seemingly threaten the Speaker."
Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Gallego confronted Johnson outside his office Wednesday, accusing him of stonewalling health care negotiations and delaying the swearing-in of Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona. Kelly said Johnson was keeping Republicans on "an extended summer vacation," while Gallego said the Speaker was blocking Grijalva's oath to prevent a vote on releasing Jeffrey Epstein's files.
Johnson said Democrats and their media allies are misleading Americans about taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants. Democrats, Johnson said, are trying to restore nearly $200 billion in benefits for non-citizens as part of negotiations to reopen the government and vowed to counter what he called left-wing talking points through a series of media appearances.
Johnson's office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation's request for comment.
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