South Carolina congressman Joe Cunningham pulled a foul move Friday and attempted to bring beer onto the House floor when he arrived at the Capitol in Washington DC.
The 36-year-old Democrat beat Republican Katie Arrington to represent his state in the November 2018 midterm elections and only a week after assuming office, Cunningham has already gained a bad reputation with some people for the stunt.
But he joked about showing up to a meeting with his alcohol in tow in a post on Twitter that morning, writing: ‘Making friends when you’re a freshman is hard and I thought I’d grease the skids with some Lowcountry beer.’
South Carolina congressman Joe Cunningham tried to bring a six-pack of beer onto the House floor at the Capitol in Washington DC on Friday and was told off
The 36-year-old freshman joked that ‘making friends is hard’ when addressing the incident on Twitter, explaining they were a gift for Oregon Democratic rep Peter DeFazio
His communications director explained he brought the beers with him up The Hill because he didn’t want to be late for his flight home that afternoon. He would have sent them to DeFazio
It was in response to a tweet from a Politico reporter who spilled the info on her Twitter page.
‘Freshman Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC) just tried to take a 6-pack of beer onto the House floor and was told that’s not allowed. ‘It’s Friday too,’ he said laughing as he turned around,’ the journalist shared.
Cunningham had a simple explanation for his poorly thought-out decision. He explained he was simply trying to share some beverages from his home state with Oregon’s 4th congressional district rep and fellow Democrat, Peter DeFazio.
Co-chair of the House Brewer’s Caucus, DeFazio, joked that Cunningham could join the caucus and they’d work on changing the rules of beer on the House floor
DeFazio assumed office 31 years ago in 1987 and is currently co-chair of the House Brewer’s Caucus which has 234 members across 43 states by July 2018.
The big advocates of promoting small businesses are a positive influence in Cunningham’s opinion as the South Carolina Brewer’s Guild states 3,000 jobs in the state have been created because of craft beer.
Cunningham tweeted: ‘Thankfully @RepPeterDeFazio got it in the end! Can I join the beer caucus now?’
DeFazio joked that Cunningham could join the caucus and they’d work on changing the rules of beer on the House floor.
‘Welcome aboard,’ he posted. ‘First order of business—working on a rules change regarding six-packs on the House Floor. Only small & independent craft brews allowed!’
Cunningham refused to apologize for promoting local businesses in his state because the craft beer industry has created 3,000 jobs according to the South Carolina Brewer’s Guild
But in all seriousness, the man who labels himself a ‘husband, dad, problem solver’ in his social media biography added that he’s not sorry for spreading knowledge of the selection of brands he brought to work.
Hi communications director Rebecca Drago said he changed his mind about sending it DeFazio’s office because he needed enough time to head to BWI Airport to catch midday flight home.
‘The Lowcountry has the best craft breweries in the country (don’t @ me Asheville),’ he posted. ‘They’re run by entrepreneurs who create thousands of good local jobs and produce the finest beer around. I’ll never apologize for promoting them. (The beer was from @WestbrookBeer & @COASTbrewing).’
Coast Brewing joked Cunningham should have gone for different option when smuggling beer into a building filled with politicians
According to the Post and Courier, the Charleston man traipsed up the Hill carrying White Thai and One Claw from Westbrook Brewing Company and Dead Arm from Coast Brewing. The latter is a beer which contains 6 percent alcohol.
But Republican National Committee spokesperson Mandi Merritt said nobody there found it funny amid the government shutdown, adding that Democrats ‘aren’t serious about working with Republicans to address the growing humanitarian and security crisis at the border’.
‘We knew Democrats were playing partisan games with our national security, but now, they apparently want to play drinking games too,’ she continued. ‘Rep. Joe Cunningham should be ashamed.’
One of the brands suggested Cunningham should have gone for different option when smuggling beer into a building filled with politicians.
‘For the record, I would have added our 32/50 Kölsch…..it’s very bipartisan,’ Coast Brewing tweeted.