Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost was barred from speaking during a House Oversight Committee meeting on Tuesday after calling President Donald Trump a “grifter.” He says the committee chairman Republican Rep. James Comer threatened to use armed forces to remove him from the committee.
“If we want to talk about waste, fraud, and abuse—which I’m down to do—why is there complete silence on the other side of the aisle when it comes to looking at the complete grifter that is the President of the United States?” Frost said during the meeting, according to NBC-affiliated news station WESH 2.
Frost also referred to Trump as a “Grifter-in-Chief.” Comer called him to withdraw the remark by citing decorum; Frost agreed.
“I can say Trump is grifting, what I will withdraw is ‘Grifter in Chief,’” he said.
Comer then barred him from participating in the meeting by declaring, “the member is barred from further participation.”
In a press release shared with Blavity, Frost reiterated his criticism of Trump and the Republicans who have openly supported the President’s decisions. He said Trump and Elon Musk have been conducting “attacks on working people” and have been working to dismantle “important federal programs Americans rely on.”
“James Comer, Marjorie Taylor Green, Nancy Mace, and all the Republican members of the MAGA cult spent all of last year throwing insults and false claims against then-President Biden and his family. But the minute Democrats try to hold Donald Trump accountable for trying to rip Social Security, Medicare, and SNAP from working people—they rush to get in line to see who can defend Daddy Trump the best,” Frost said.
He also accused Trump of using his power to enrich himself.
“Donald Trump is a grifter, he lied to the American people to get back inside the White House. And Elon Trump is his puppeteer. They are openly using their public offices to enrich themselves and their already-rich friends,” Frost said.
The Democrat noted he will keep voicing his opinions, despite Comer threatening to arrest him.
“I’m going to stand up. I’m not going to let anyone scare me into not talking about the truth and not knowing what’s going on,” he said, according to WESH 2. “James Comer can hide behind the Sergeant in Arms and have me removed and arrest me if he wants to. But that’s not going to stop me from calling out Donald Trump and his bullshit,” he then added in the press release.
Frost also said he remains hopeful for a shift in political power in the future.
“In two years, we’re going to take back the House and take the gavels,” he said. “We’re going to subpoena Elon Musk and we’re going to make sure people know what’s going on in this White House and do real oversight.”