Lungren Says House Leader Threatened to Punch Him

WASHINGTON —  California Rep. Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach) has accused House Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-Tex.) of grabbing him by the arm and threatening to punch him and another GOP congressman during an outburst on the House floor.

A spokeswoman for Wright confirmed Monday that the Texas Democrat had exchanged “intemperate words” with Lungren and Rep. Robert S. Walker (R-Pa.) near the close of a bitter late-night House session Thursday. She declined comment on Lungren’s version of events and said Wright later apologized to Lungren.

It was the second such incident this session in the decorum-minded House, where members prefer rhetorical barbs to flying fists. In March, California Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) caused a stir when he grabbed New York Democrat Thomas K. Downey by the necktie and scuffled with him after Downey objected to being called a “draft-dodging wimp.”

According to Lungren, the latest altercation began when Lungren and Walker approached Wright at the Speaker’s platform to complain about rulings on vote counts, including a decision to block a Republican request for a roll-call vote that would have put lawmakers’ positions on the death penalty on the record.

Lungren said Wright began to smile when the two Republicans threatened to invoke parliamentary rules that would require elaborate, time-consuming procedures for future important votes.

“I am smiling because I am trying to hold inside how I feel,” Lungren quoted Wright as saying. “I want to come down here and punch you and Mr. Walker in the mouth.”

Lungren claimed Wright “then came down the two steps and grabbed me by the arm and repeated . . . the suggestion, at which time I told him to get his hands off my arm.”

“Now, I do not have to fear for my physical being in the House,” Lungren continued. “My avocations are weightlifting and tae kwan do, and I certainly do not have to worry about someone who is two decades older than I am.” Lungren is 38 and Wright is 62.

Wright, a front-runner in the race to become House Speaker when Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. (D-Mass.) retires next year, was traveling between speaking engagements in Texas Monday and could not be reached for comment.

Wright’s spokeswoman quoted the majority leader in his apology to Lungren as saying, “I earnestly regret any comment of mine that may have seemed harsh or intemperate. All members, Democrats and Republicans alike, are entitled to consideration and respectful treatment from me and to equal protection of their rights under the rules. That is a principle which I try best to uphold.”