CIA agents were so taken aback by the behavior of a prominent Republican congressman on a foreign trip earlier this year that he was reportedly banned from foreign travel.
Texas Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, allegedly toasted inappropriate remarks by a Mexican official during an August meeting, according to Punchbowl News.
The congressman’s conduct reportedly alarmed officials at the CIA’s Mexico City station enough that they sent a cable to the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, reporting what they viewed as unprofessional conduct tied to drinking, as well as a lack of decorum in front of Mexican officials.
The remarks toasted by Crenshaw allegedly made a woman in the meeting uncomfortable, per sources who spoke with Punchbowl.
Crenshaw was visiting America’s southern neighbor as head of the House Intelligence Committee’s cartel task force.
That is a role he no longer holds, per Punchbowl.
Crenshaw himself has decried the framing of the incident by Punchbowl, accusing them of clickbait.
‘Once again, we are dealing with the usual media playbook of publishing sensational stories based on anonymous sources and incorrect facts,’ Crenshaw wrote on X.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, talks to reporters as he walks out of the House chamber during the 118th Congress in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023
The seal of the Central Intelligence Agency at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., April 13, 2016
The Mexican flag flies over the Zocalo, the main square in Mexico City. The Metropolitan Cathedral faces the square, also referred to as Constitution Square
‘Sorry everyone, I truly wish I had a better story to tell you about my time in Mexico. But the truth is in fact very boring. I’m *shocked* that Punchbowl would try to sell you subscriptions with clickbait headlines. Super shocked,’ Crenshaw also added.
Punchbowl additionally reported that the incident also drew the ire of House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford, an Arkansas Republican, who sought to have Crenshaw kicked off the committee and banned from foreign trips, as well as House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson.
The Speaker offered the following statement in support of Crenshaw, also blaming the media’s coverage of the matter.
‘Dan Crenshaw has always been and still is our point man in Congress when it comes to addressing the threat of the drug cartels. His insights and expertise in these and other matters regarding intelligence and national security are invaluable,’ Johnson noted.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) departs the House floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 18, 2025
Representative Rick Crawford, a Republican from Arkansas, listens during a House Intelligence Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, April 15, 2021
‘As a former Navy SEAL, he has earned his large platform. Despite recent media attacks by his political opponents, we know Dan, we stand by his record, and we have full confidence he will continue to deliver results,’ Johnson’s statement also notes.
Crenshaw also raised eyebrows earlier this year when he was apparently caught on a hot mic threatening to kill former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Back in February, he noted that he had not met Carlson in person, but then said, ‘If I ever meet him, I’ll f***ing kill him.’ He then apparently went on to call Carlson ‘the worst person.’
The remarks came after a fiery interview in which Crenshaw criticized Carlson’s opposition to American aid to Ukraine, saying he ‘doesn’t know what he’s talking about,’ according to Politico.
