GOP lawmakers call out Rep. Cawthorn over ‘orgy’ remarks

(CNN) - Republican leaders have met with a GOP congressman who alleged drug use and orgies are taking place in Washington.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise called Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., into a meeting Wednesday.

The face-to-face was to address allegations Cawthorn made on a podcast that he was invited to an “orgy” and had seen cocaine use firsthand.

Cawthorn did not suggest any fellow lawmakers were involved in the actions but referenced people he “looked up to.”

GOP lawmakers complained during a closed-door party meeting Tuesday that they were receiving questions from constituents about it.

McCarthy said Cawthorn admitted in the meeting that his allegations were untrue or exaggerated.

“I just told him he’s lost my trust. He’s going to have to earn it back, and I laid out everything that I find is unbecoming,” McCarthy said. “And should - you can’t just say, ‘You can’t do this again.’ I mean, he’s got a lot of members very upset.”