Outrage erupted Sunday after Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) openly admitted to his plan to block the seating of a Democratic congressional candidate should they win in November.
As reported by the New York Post on Saturday, Burchett was planning to block the seating of Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier of New York should she defeat her GOP opponent, Jomo M. Williams, next month. Williams’ “chances of winning are slim,” the conservative New York Post noted, given the voting history of New York’s deep-blue 13th Congressional District.
The Post reported that Burchett’s plot was motivated by a now-deleted online post from Avila Chevalier in which she joked about using the American flag as a napkin, which Burchett described as “disavowing” the U.S. Constitution. And on Sunday, Burchett confirmed the Post’s reporting, writing that he was “100%” planning to block Avila Chevalier’s seating in January should she win her election.
“It's actually very pathetic and not funny at all that [Burchett] doesn't see the irony of trying to block Chevalier from being seated because she said she used the flag as a napkin,” wrote Ari Cohn, a Chicago-based First Amendment lawyer. “If disavowing the Constitution is disqualifying, he should be expelled from the House.”
Cohn continued, arguing that Burchett’s plot was “shameful and embarrassing to anyone with a 3rd grade civics education,” a sentiment that was mirrored by veteran Tennessee journalist Jamie Satterfield, who responded to Burchett’s “100%” comment by writing, “100 percent moron.”
Burchett sparked outrage last month after boasting about being given a free “ride” on Air Force One to attend a Tennessee-Texas football game in his own district, with critics labeling Burchett’s boast as “tone deaf.”
@timburchett You should be expelled from the House under your own criteria.This should be shameful and embarrassing to anyone with a 3rd grade civics education.
— Ari Cohn (@AriCohn) October 4, 2026