Fox News Host Caught on Hot Mic Calling Politician a ‘Dumba—’

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade was caught calling a Congressman a “dumba-” on Tuesday when he didn’t realize his microphone was still on during a broadcast. Kilmeade was on the air while Fox was broadcasting the House of Representatives’ vote for a new Speaker of the House to replace ousted Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy. When Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon made his vote, Kilmeade muttered: “dumba-” for all the world to hear.

The House was voting for a new Speaker on Tuesday after California’s McCarthy was removed from the role on Oct. 3 by his fellow Republicans. Bacon was not among them, however, and when the time came on Tuesday to vote for a new Speaker, Bacon made a symbolic vote for McCarthy to be reinstated – though he likely knew there was little chance he would win. Kilmeade does not typically shy away from editorializing, and while he hot mic comment was deemed inappropriate by some commenters, it did not seem out of character.

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Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a motion to remove McCarthy as Speaker out of frustration last month, saying that McCarthy was making too many concessions to Democrats. Gaetz was one of the eight Republican representatives to vote to remove McCarthy from the position, while Bacon was not. After he was voted out, McCarthy said he would not seek re-election to the speakership, but Bacon voted for him anyway.

So far, Fox and Kilmeade have not commented publicly on Tuesday’s hot mic incident. The network covered the vote live as Republicans sought to elect Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. Jordan did not get the necessary votes on Tuesday or Wednesday according to a report by CBS News, with many critics citing his outspoken support for conspiracy theories as the reason. Jordan has said that he intends to continue seeking the Speakership, but in the meantime Rep. Patrick McHenry holds the role temporarily by default.

As Congress works on choosing a new leader for itself, the threat of a government shutdown is becoming more and more imminent. McCarthy was removed after passing a temporary budget in order to avert another government shutdown, but that measure will only hold until Nov. 17. The hope was that Congress could settle all its fiscal disagreements in the meantime, but so far it has been distracted by this internal drama. With less than a month to go, the chances of a government shutdown this winter are growing more and more likely.