Madison Cawthorn: Difference between revisions

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| image = Madison Cawthorn 117th U.S Congress (cropped less).jpg

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'''David Madison Cawthorn''' (born August 1, 1995) is an American politician who served as the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] for [[North Carolina's 11th congressional district]] from 2021 to 2023. Cawthorn became the firstA member of Congressthe born[[Republican inParty the(United 1990sStates)|Republican andParty]], Cawthorn describes himself as a [[Christian]] and a [[constitutional conservative]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Madison Cawthorn becomes first person born in the 1990s to be elected to Congress |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/madison-cawthorn-north-carolina-youngest-elected-congress/ |access-date=November 19, 2022 |website=CBS News |date=November 4, 2020 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104180144/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/madison-cawthorn-north-carolina-youngest-elected-congress/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto2" /> He is a member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].

In 2014, Cawthorn was in a car accident that resulted in his being permanently paralyzed, leaving him wheelchair-bound. After working as a staffer for U.S. Representative [[Mark Meadows]], Cawthorn was elected to succeed Meadows in [[2020 United States House of Representatives elections|2020]] and became the first member of Congress born in the 1990s.<ref name="NYT20201104">{{cite news|title=North Carolina Election Results: 11th Congressional District|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|date=November 3, 2020 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-north-carolina-house-district-11.html|access-date=November 4, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104022900/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-north-carolina-house-district-11.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His tenure was marked by various controversies, including allegations of [[insider trading]], improper payments, bringing a handgun to an airport, and appearing in a leaked nude video.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bowman |first1=Emma |title=Rep. Madison Cawthorn is under mounting pressure from scandals ahead of midterms |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/05/02/1095770735/madison-cawthorn-allegations |access-date=August 15, 2022 |work=[[NPR]] |date=May 2, 2022 |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506231804/https://www.npr.org/2022/05/02/1095770735/madison-cawthorn-allegations |url-status=live }}</ref> Cawthorn lost his reelection bid in the [[2022 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina#District 11|2022 Republican primary]] to [[Chuck Edwards]], who won the general election.<ref name="notok" /><ref name="ousted">{{Cite news |title=Rep. Madison Cawthorn ousted from office amid scandals and opposition from his own party |first1=Grace |last1=Panetta |first2=Camila |last2=DeChalus |first3=Brent D. |last3=Griffiths |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/madison-cawthorn-chuck-edwards-primary-election-live-results-2022-5 |date=May 18, 2022 |access-date=May 18, 2022 |work=[[Business Insider]] |language=en-US |archive-date=December 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228181215/https://www.businessinsider.com/madison-cawthorn-chuck-edwards-primary-election-live-results-2022-5 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Rep. Meadows had nominated Cawthorn to the [[United States Naval Academy]] in December 2013,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meadows congratulates Western NC academy nominees |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2013/12/22/meadows-congratulates-western-nc-academy-nominees/4149643/ |access-date=December 17, 2022 |website=The Asheville Citizen Times |language=en-US |archive-date=September 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901021151/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2013/12/22/meadows-congratulates-western-nc-academy-nominees/4149643/ |url-status=live }}</ref> but his application was rejected. Although this happened before his injury, he claimed in advertisements for his 2020 congressional campaign that the accident "derailed" his plans to attend the Academy.<ref name="fiedler" /><ref name="womencomeforward">{{cite web |last1=Moon |first1=Paul |date=August 20, 2020 |title=Women come forward to accuse Madison Cawthorn of aggressive sexual behavior |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/madison/2020/08/20/madison-cawthorn-nc-katrina-krulikas-sexual-assault/3394391001/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20201105164907/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/madison/2020/08/20/madison-cawthorn-nc-katrina-krulikas-sexual-assault/3394391001/ |archive-date=November 5, 2020 |access-date=August 24, 2020 |newspaper=Asheville Citizen-Times}}</ref><ref name="WLOS_12AUG20">{{cite web|last=Le|first=John|date=August 12, 2020|title=Madison Cawthorn responds to report that he misled people about his past|url=https://wlos.com/news/local/madison-cawthorn-responds-to-report-that-he-misled-people-about-his-past|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821080222/https://wlos.com/news/local/madison-cawthorn-responds-to-report-that-he-misled-people-about-his-past|archive-date=August 21, 2020|access-date=August 13, 2020|website=[[WLOS|ABC 13 News WLOS]]|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="BuzzFeed">{{cite news|last1=Baird|first1=Addy|last2=Sacks|first2=Brianna|date=February 26, 2021|title="Danger Warning": Women Say Madison Cawthorn Harassed Them In College|language=en|work=BuzzFeed News|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/addybaird/madison-cawthorn-sexual-misconduct-allegations-patrick|url-status=live|access-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227022806/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/addybaird/madison-cawthorn-sexual-misconduct-allegations-patrick/|archive-date=February 27, 2021}}</ref> Cawthorn had acknowledged in 2017 under oath that he had been turned down before the accident.<ref name="Kranish" /> When asked in 2020 about the discrepancy, he said, "I never said I was appointed or accepted to the academy, I knew that I'd only been nominated at that point. I fully expected to be accepted and to be appointed, but at that point I hadn't received it."<ref>{{cite news|last=Le|first=John|date=August 12, 2020|title=Madison Cawthorn responds to report that he misled people about his past|url=https://wlos.com/news/local/madison-cawthorn-responds-to-report-that-he-misled-people-about-his-past|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828002652/https://wlos.com/news/local/madison-cawthorn-responds-to-report-that-he-misled-people-about-his-past|archive-date=August 28, 2020|access-date=August 26, 2020|website=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]}}</ref>

From January 2015 to August 2016, Cawthorn worked as a staff assistant in U.S. Representative [[Mark Meadows]]'s district office.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/10/12/madison-cawthorn-said-he-worked-full-time-mark-meadows-though-record-says-he-didnt/5970459002/ |date=October 12, 2020 |title=Madison Cawthorn said he worked full-time for Mark Meadows; record says he didn't|first=Joel|last=Burgess|newspaper=Asheville Citizen-Times|access-date=January 12, 2021|archive-date=January 30, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210130032830/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/10/12/madison-cawthorn-said-he-worked-full-time-mark-meadows-though-record-says-he-didnt/5970459002/|url-status=live}}</ref> He told the ''[[Asheville Citizen-Times]]'' he worked there "full-time", but it was a part-time position.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Burgess |first=Joel |date=October 12, 2020 |title=Madison Cawthorn said he worked full-time for Mark Meadows; record says he didn't |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/10/12/madison-cawthorn-said-he-worked-full-time-mark-meadows-though-record-says-he-didnt/5970459002/ |access-date=May 15, 2022 |newspaper=Asheville Citizen-Times |language=en-US |archive-date=February 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220162034/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/10/12/madison-cawthorn-said-he-worked-full-time-mark-meadows-though-record-says-he-didnt/5970459002/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cawthorn is the owner and CEO of SPQR Holdings, LLC, a [[real estate investment]] firm in Hendersonville. The firm was started in August 2019 and reported no income; Cawthorn is its sole employee.<ref name="fiedler" /> As of August 2020, the company had been involved in only one real estate transaction, purchasing a {{convert|6-|acre|adj=on}} property for $20,000, in a foreclosure auction.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wang |first=Esther |date=August 10, 2020 |title=My Dark Journey Into the Soul of a Model Young Republican Candidate |url=https://jezebel.com/my-dark-journey-into-the-soul-of-a-model-young-republic-1844324325 |access-date=April 29, 2022 |website=Jezebel |language=en-us |archive-date=April 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427175237/https://jezebel.com/my-dark-journey-into-the-soul-of-a-model-young-republic-1844324325 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In a July 2020 event at the Texas border, Cawthorn declared, without providing evidence, that there was "a large group of cartels, kidnapping our American children and then taking them to sell them on a slave market, a sex slave market".<ref name="Kranish" />

During the 2020 general campaign, his Democratic opponent drew attention to a 2017 Cawthorn [[Instagram]] post with a picture of his visit to [[Adolf Hitler]]'s vacation residence [[Kehlsteinhaus|Eagle's Nest]], which he said had been on his "bucket list for a while",<ref name="CNN20200813">{{cite news|last1=Serfaty|first1=Sunlen|last2=Foran|first2=Clare|title=GOP congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn on the defensive over social media post of visit to Hitler retreat|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/madison-cawthorn-social-media-post/index.html|website=CNN|date=August 13, 2020|access-date=August 14, 2020|archive-date=August 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814054042/https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/madison-cawthorn-social-media-post/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Jim |title=NC House candidate is under fire for posts some call sympathetic to white nationalists |url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/rnc-2020/article244872697.html |date=August 11, 2020|access-date=August 12, 2020 |newspaper=[[The Charlotte Observer]] |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815214125/https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/rnc-2020/article244872697.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Times_14Aug20">{{cite web |last1=Sales |first1=Ben |title=Madison Cawthorn's visit to Hitler's vacation home alarms his NC district's Jews |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/madison-cawthorns-visit-to-hitlers-vacation-home-alarms-his-nc-districts-jews/ |newspaper=[[The Times of Israel]] |date=August 14, 2020 |access-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-date=August 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200829045121/https://www.timesofisrael.com/madison-cawthorns-visit-to-hitlers-vacation-home-alarms-his-nc-districts-jews/ |url-status=live}}</ref> generated criticism andgenerating allegations of [[far-right]] sympathies.<ref name="CNN20200813" /><ref name="APNews">{{cite news |last1=Robertson |first1=Gary D. |date=August 12, 2020 |title=NC candidate defends posts; says he despises racism |website=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://apnews.com/05b48973950cdc05f523b7cf34ba3f42 |url-status=live |access-date=August 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020010801/https://apnews.com/05b48973950cdc05f523b7cf34ba3f42 |archive-date=October 20, 2020}}</ref> He had referred to Hitler as "the ''[[Führer]]''", which had been Hitler's official title, and also called Hitler "a supreme evil".<ref name="CNN20200813" /><ref name="TJP20200812">{{cite news|last=Cramer|first=Philissa|title=Rep. NC Congress candidate deletes pictures from his stay at Hitler's|url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/rep-nc-congress-candidate-deletes-pictures-from-his-vacation-to-hitler-638316|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|agency=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]|date=August 12, 2020|access-date=August 14, 2020|archive-date=August 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813144524/https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/rep-nc-congress-candidate-deletes-pictures-from-his-vacation-to-hitler-638316|url-status=live}}</ref> In response, Cawthorn deniedcalled the allegations that he beingwas a [[White supremacy|white supremacist]], calling the allegations ridiculous, andsaying saidthat he "completely and wholeheartedly denounce[s] any kind of [[white nationalism]], any kind of [[Nazism]]".<ref name="WLOS_12AUG20" /><ref name="CNN20200813" /><ref name="APNews" /> The [[Anti-Defamation League]]'s analyst [[Mark Pitcavage]] said he did not see much merit in the accusations against Cawthorn.<ref name="CNN20200813" /><ref name="APNews" /> Some Jewish residents of his congressional district expressed concern about the incident, including [[Esther Manheimer]], mayor of [[Asheville]], the district's largest city.<ref name="Times_14Aug20" /> Cawthorn deleted the Instagram post on August 10.<!-- TJP article published on Wed Aug 12: "pictures were removed Monday". --><ref name="TJP20200812" />

Cawthorn spoke on the third day of the [[2020 Republican National Convention]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCaskill |first1=Nolan D. |title=Trump campaign announces speakers for Republican convention |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/23/trump-campaign-announces-speakers-for-republican-convention-400295 |website=[[Politico]] |access-date=August 24, 2020 |language=en |date=August 23, 2020 |archive-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200823232527/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/23/trump-campaign-announces-speakers-for-republican-convention-400295 |url-status=live}}</ref> During his election bid, Cawthorn's campaign created a website to criticize journalist Tom Fiedler, who had produced investigative pieces on Cawthorn and had written favorably about his opponent. The website accused Fiedler of leaving academia "to work for non-white males, like [[Cory Booker]], who aims to ruin white males running for office."<ref name="WaPo20201025">{{cite news|last=Firozi|first=Paulina|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/25/booker-calls-house-gop-candidate-cawthorn-racist-over-his-website-accusing-senator-working-ruin-white-males/|title=Booker calls House GOP candidate Cawthorn racist over his website accusing senator of working to 'ruin white males'|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 25, 2020|access-date=November 4, 2020|archive-date=November 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103235322/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/25/booker-calls-house-gop-candidate-cawthorn-racist-over-his-website-accusing-senator-working-ruin-white-males/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="gabriel">{{cite web| url = https://www.wral.com/western-nc-gop-house-candidate-sounds-racist-dog-whistle-in-attack-on-journalist/19349859/| title = Western NC GOP House candidate sounds racist dog whistle in attack on journalist| last1 = Gabriel| first1 = Trip| last2 = Leslie| first2 = Laura| date = October 23, 2020| website = WRAL-TV| publisher = [[Capitol Broadcasting Company]]| access-date = October 24, 2020| archive-date = October 24, 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201024114234/https://www.wral.com/western-nc-gop-house-candidate-sounds-racist-dog-whistle-in-attack-on-journalist/19349859/| url-status = live}}</ref> The sentence on the website was later modified to claim Fiedler is "an unapologetic defender of left-wing [[identity politics]]".<ref name="WaPo20201025" /> Cawthorn released a statement saying he had intended "to condemn" such political opinion as being "dangerous and divisive"<ref name="gabriel" /> and said that he "condemned racism and identity politics throughout [his] campaign."<ref name="gabriel" /> [[Ben Mathis-Lilley]], writing for [[Slate (magazine)|''Slate'']], observedsaid that Cawthorn's apology "convolutedly expressed regret for 'having unfairly implied I was criticizing Cory Booker,' which is notable in that it is not an apology for attacking the journalist in question, Tom Fiedler, as a [[race traitor|traitor to his race]]."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mathis-Lilley |first1=Ben |title=Rising Star Republican Candidate Denounces Critic Over Past Support for "Non-White Males" |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/10/madison-cawthorn-racist-attack-by-republican-congressional-candidate.html |website=[[Slate (website)|Slate]] |date=October 23, 2020|access-date=October 25, 2020 |archive-date=October 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024065445/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/10/madison-cawthorn-racist-attack-by-republican-congressional-candidate.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Cawthorn iswas the youngest Republican to serve in the [[117th United States Congress|117th Congress]], and, at 25, was one of the [[List of youngest members of the United States Congress|youngest members]] ever elected to the House of Representatives.<ref name="Fandos_23June20" /><ref>{{cite news |last=LeBlanc |first=Paul |date=June 23, 2020 |title=Political newcomer beats Trump's pick in North Carolina GOP congressional primary |language=en-US |website=[[CNN]] |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/23/politics/north-carolina-primary-madison-cawthorn/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624032412/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/23/politics/north-carolina-primary-madison-cawthorn/index.html |archive-date=June 24, 2020}}</ref> He is also the first member of Congress born in the 1990s.<ref name=":1" />

In November 2021, Cawthorn firstannounced declaredthat hisinstead intentionof to runrunning for are-election secondin termNorth Carolina's 11th district he would instead run in the [[North Carolina's 13th congressional district|new 13th congressional district]], which includes [[Cleveland County, North Carolina|Cleveland County]] and other counties west of [[Charlotte, North Carolian|Charlotte]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.carolinajournal.com/news-article/rep-madison-cawthorn-changes-congressional-districts/ |title=Rep. Madison Cawthorn changes congressional districts |work=[[John Locke Foundation|Carolina Journal]] |date=November 12, 2021 |access-date=January 21, 2022 |archive-date=April 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430002930/https://www.carolinajournal.com/rep-madison-cawthorn-changes-congressional-districts/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article255751151.html|title=Cawthorn announces he'll change districts for 2022, shaking up NC elections|last1=Battaglia|first=Danielle|last2=Murphy|first2=Brian|last3=Vaughn|first3=Dawn Baumgartner|work=[[News & Observer]]|date=November 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112002820/https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article255751151.html|archive-date=November 12, 2021|access-date=November 13, 2021}}</ref> Most of Cawthorn's former territory, including his home in Hendersonville, had become the [[North Carolina's 14th congressional district|14th district]];, but members of Congress are not required to live in the district they represent but merely in the same state.<ref>{{cite news |last=Burgess |first=Joel |url=https://citizen-times.com/story/news/2021/11/16/madison-cawthorn-clarify-where-he-lives-records-statement-differ-henderson-polk-county/8623766002/ |title=Madison Cawthorn won't clarify where he lives; records differ from his statement |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |date=November 16, 2021 |access-date=January 21, 2022 |archive-date=November 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211116122547/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2021/11/16/madison-cawthorn-clarify-where-he-lives-records-statement-differ-henderson-polk-county/8623766002/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He wrote on [[Twitter]] that he was running in the 13th district because otherwise "another establishment, go-along-to-get-along Republican would prevail there." AccordingDescribing tosome of Cawthorn's political missteps and disputes in his home district, the ''Asheville Citizen-Times'', wrote: "The emerging opposition to Cawthorn in his current district, including by former supporters, "appears to provide a political rationale" for hisskipping decisioninto the new 13th Congressional District."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2021/12/17/cawthorns-uncivil-war-move-new-district-triggers-party-reckoning/8917744002/|title=Madison Cawthorn's uncivil war: Invasion into new district triggers intra-party reckoning|last=Fiedler|first=Tom|work=Asheville Citizen-Times|date=December 20, 2021|access-date=December 20, 2021|archive-date=December 17, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211217191420/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2021/12/17/cawthorns-uncivil-war-move-new-district-triggers-party-reckoning/8917744002/|url-status=live}}</ref> Cawthorn later filed to run again in the 11th district, after [[Redistricting in North Carolina#2020-Present|new maps were approved]] in February.<ref>{{cite news |last=Barrows |first=Kari |date=February 28, 2022 |title=It's Official: Madison Cawthorn files to run in North Carolina's 11th District |publisher=[[WLOS]] |url=https://wlos.com/news/local/madison-cawthorn-nc-11-district-files-official-north-carolina-congressional-map-us-house-representative-republican-candidate |url-status=live |access-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301021739/https://wlos.com/news/local/madison-cawthorn-nc-11-district-files-official-north-carolina-congressional-map-us-house-representative-republican-candidate |archive-date=March 1, 2022}}</ref>

Cawthorn filed suit in the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina|Eastern North Carolina U.S. District Court]] to dismiss the challenge before the state elections board could hear it. The [[North Carolina Attorney General]]'s office, citing a [[Victor L. Berger|1919 application of the amendment to a congressman]] who had violated the [[Espionage Act of 1917|Espionage Act]], argued that the Fourteenth14th Amendment could apply to Cawthorn "if a state board determines he aided or encouraged the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol." In March 2022, Chief Judge [[Richard E. Myers II|Richard Myers]] ruled in Cawthorn's favor based on the [[Amnesty Act]] that gave amnesty to [[Confederate States of America|ex-Confederates]] following the [[American Civil War insurrectionists]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Stern |first=Mark Joseph |date=February 2, 2022 |title=What Does Madison Cawthorn Have in Common With Ex-Confederates? |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/02/madison-cawthorn-insurrection-amnesty.html |access-date=March 10, 2022 |magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |language=en |archive-date=March 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310133913/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/02/madison-cawthorn-insurrection-amnesty.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/23/north-carolina-cawthorn-constitution-insurrectionists-00010944 |title=North Carolina officials reject Cawthorn claim that Constitution's insurrectionist ban no longer applies |work=[[Politico]] |date=February 23, 2022 |first=Kyle |last=Cheney |access-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-date=February 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223232127/https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/23/north-carolina-cawthorn-constitution-insurrectionists-00010944 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Weisman |first=Jonathan |date=March 4, 2022 |title=Judge Blocks Effort to Disqualify Cawthorn from Ballot as 'Insurrectionist' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/us/politics/madison-cawthorn-north-carolina-insurrectionist.html |access-date=March 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310025553/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/us/politics/madison-cawthorn-north-carolina-insurrectionist.html |url-status=live}}</ref> but on May 24, 2022, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit|U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals]] reversed the district court ruling and instead ruled that the Amnesty Act applied only to people who committed "constitutionally wrongful acts" before 1872.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weiner |first=Rachel |date=May 24, 2022 |title=Insurrectionists can be barred from office, appeals court says |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/05/24/madison-cawthorn-insurrectionist-challenge/ |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-date=February 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206072353/https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/05/24/madison-cawthorn-insurrectionist-challenge/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Weiner |first=Rachel |date=May 4, 2022 |title=Cawthorn fights ballot challenge accusing him of being 'insurrectionist' |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/05/04/cawthorn-insurrectionist-ballot/ |access-date=May 4, 2022 |archive-date=May 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504140110/https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/05/04/cawthorn-insurrectionist-ballot/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The appeals court did not determine whether Cawthorn is eligible for office; it only determined that the Amnesty Act does not shield him from disqualification.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Wynn |last2=Richardson |last3=Heytens |date=May 24, 2022 |title=MADISON CAWTHORN v. BARBARA LYNN AMALFI et al; No. 22-1251 |url=https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/221251.P.pdf |access-date=May 25, 2022 |website=US Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit |page=20 |quote="The question currently before us, however, is not whether Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment would (or would not) disqualify Representative Cawthorn from future federal or state service, and this appeal cannot result in an order declaring Representative Cawthorn constitutionally qualified (or unqualified) for further service in the House of Representatives. Instead, the question before us is: Regardless of whether Section 3 would otherwise disqualify Representative Cawthorn, does the 1872 Amnesty Act nevertheless authorize him to serve?" |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525041459/https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/221251.P.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite report|last=Lampe|first=Joanna R.|date=June 1, 2022|title=The Insurrection Bar to Holding Office: Appeals Court Issues Decision on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment|publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]]|url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10750|access-date=September 24, 2023|archive-date=June 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603102358/https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10750|url-status=live}}</ref>

DuringThe ''[[Washington Post]]'' reported that during his candidacy and time in Congress, Cawthorn has beenbecame known for incendiary rhetoric and for promulgating conspiracy theories.<ref name="Kranish" /> He had said he intended to use his position to be a messenger rather than a legislator, writing to his colleagues, "I have built my staff around comms rather than legislation."<ref name="auto2">{{Cite magazine|title=Rising GOP Star Madison Cawthorn Peddles a New Trumpism|url=https://time.com/5931815/madison-cawthorn-post-trump/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127223030/https://time.com/5931815/madison-cawthorn-post-trump/ |first=Abby |last=Vesoulis |date=January 27, 2021 |archive-date=January 27, 2021|access-date=January 27, 2021|magazine=Time}}</ref> Cawthorn subsequently closed all but one district office.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vaillancourt |first=Cory |title=Complaint filed against Cawthorn by fired staffer |url=https://smokymountainnews.com/news/item/33441-complaint-filed-against-cawthorn-by-fired-staffer |access-date=April 18, 2022 |website=smokymountainnews.com |language=en-gb |archive-date=April 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418170614/https://smokymountainnews.com/news/item/33441-complaint-filed-against-cawthorn-by-fired-staffer |url-status=live}}</ref>

In December 2020, at a [[Turning Point USA]] conference in [[Florida]], Cawthorn said that he would [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|try to contest]] the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]] results when Congress counted the [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]] votes in January, citing fraud, though there was no evidence that fraud affected the election results.<ref>{{cite news|first=Brian|last=Gordon|title=Madison Cawthorn says he'll contest Biden's election victory in Congress next month|url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/12/21/madison-cawthorn-west-north-carolina-contest-joe-biden-victory-2020-election-results-in-congress/3996241001/|date=December 21, 2020|access-date=December 22, 2020|work=Asheville Citizen-Times|archive-date=February 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220161929/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/12/21/madison-cawthorn-west-north-carolina-contest-joe-biden-victory-2020-election-results-in-congress/3996241001/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://wlos.com/news/local/cawthorn-says-he-will-contest-bidens-win |title=Cawthorn says he will contest Biden's win |work=[[WLOS]] |date=December 22, 2020 |access-date=December 24, 2020 |archive-date=December 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222220201/https://wlos.com/news/local/cawthorn-says-he-will-contest-bidens-win |url-status=live}}</ref> He subsequently used conspiracy theories about fraud to run advertisements and raise money for himself.<ref>{{cite news|last=Markay|first=Lachlan|date=December 30, 2020|title=Ted Cruz's Georgia Runoff Fundraising Is Actually Going to His Campaign. He's Not Alone|language=en|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/ted-cruz-is-pocketing-the-money-hes-raising-for-georgia-gopers-hes-not-alone|access-date=December 30, 2020|archive-date=December 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230152724/https://www.thedailybeast.com/ted-cruz-is-pocketing-the-money-hes-raising-for-georgia-gopers-hes-not-alone|url-status=live}}</ref> He called on the TPUSA event's attendees to "lightly threaten" their representatives.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Edmondson|first1=Catie|last2=Broadwater|first2=Luke|date=January 12, 2021|title=Before Capitol Riot, Republican Lawmakers Fanned the Flames|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/politics/republicans-capitol-riot.html|access-date=January 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|quote=At a Turning Point USA event in December, Representative Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina encouraged attendees to "call your congressman and feel free — you can lightly threaten them." "Say: 'If you don't support election integrity, I'm coming after you. Madison Cawthorn's coming after you. Everybody's coming after you.|archive-date=January 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113005821/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/politics/republicans-capitol-riot.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Before Trump supporters [[2021 storming of the United States Capitol|stormed the United States Capitol]] on January 6, Cawthorn addressed the crowd and said, "this crowd has some fight."<ref>{{cite news|last=Pellicer|first=Lauren|date=January 6, 2021|title=NC Congressional Delegates React To Violence As Pro-Trump Mob Storms US Capitol|work=[[Blue Ridge Public Radio]]|url=https://www.bpr.org/post/nc-congressional-delegates-react-violence-pro-trump-mob-storms-us-capitol|access-date=January 7, 2021|archive-date=January 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107230941/https://www.bpr.org/post/nc-congressional-delegates-react-violence-pro-trump-mob-storms-us-capitol|url-status=live}}</ref> He voted not to certify the Electoral College results in Congress<ref name=":0" /> and called Republicans who voted to certify the results "spineless cowards".<ref name=":0" /> He repeated the [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|false conspiracy theories]] that there was widespread fraud in the election.<ref name="Kranish" /> After the riots, Cawthorn denounced the violence and said, "The party as a whole should have been much more wise about their choice of words."<ref>{{cite web|title=Cawthorn expresses concern about election fraud claims after earlier stoking them|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/12/cawthorn-election-fraud-concerns-458217|access-date=January 12, 2021|website=Politico|date=January 12, 2021 |language=en|archive-date=January 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112174717/https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/12/cawthorn-election-fraud-concerns-458217|url-status=live}}</ref> He later attempted to blame the riots on a "Democratic machine" of "agitators strategically placed inside of this group", amid intensifying calls for his resignation for his part in stoking the riots.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Peter |title=Cawthorn blamed 'Democratic machine' for riots, calls intensify for congressman to resign |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2021/01/19/madison-cawthorn-blamed-democrats-capitol-riots-petition-intensify-resign-asheville/4203167001/ |access-date=January 19, 2021 |newspaper=Asheville Citizen-Times |date=January 19, 2021 |archive-date=February 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220161154/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2021/01/19/madison-cawthorn-blamed-democrats-capitol-riots-petition-intensify-resign-asheville/4203167001/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On January 23, on ''[[CNN Newsroom]]'', [[Pamela Brown (journalist)|Pamela Brown]] asked Cawthorn about his views of the election results, to which Cawthorn eventually responded that there was no voter fraud. He said, "You know, the Constitution allowed for us to be able to push back as much as we could and I did that to the amount of the constitutional limits that I had at my disposal. So now I would say that Joseph R. Biden is our president".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/cnn/2021/01/24/politics/madison-cawthorn-president-joe-biden-election/index.html|title=GOP congressman who voted to overturn election results admits 2020 race not fraudulent|work=[[CNN]]|last1=Mena|first1=Kelly|last2=Kenny|first2=Caroline|date=January 24, 2021|access-date=January 24, 2021}} {{dead link|date=January 2024}}</ref> According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', Cawthorn was "trying to have it both ways. One day, he's preaching about respecting the office of the Presidency and vowing to work across the aisle with Democratic colleagues. The next, he's trumpeting dangerous conspiracies to right-wing crowds and commentators."<ref name="auto2" />

In October 2021, Cawthorn said, "our culture today is trying to completely de-masculate {{sic}} all of the young men", because "they don't want people who are going to stand up". He issued a call to mothers, who he said are the "most vicious" conservatives: "If you are raising a young man, please raise them to be a monster".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rahaman Sarkar |first1=Alisha |title=Madison Cawthorn calls for mothers to raise 'monster' men in terrifying speech against 'demasculation' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/north-carolina-madison-cawthorn-masculinity-b1940849.html |access-date=October 21, 2021 |work=[[The Independent]] |date=October 20, 2021 |archive-date=October 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021012245/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/north-carolina-madison-cawthorn-masculinity-b1940849.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2021, Cawthorn accused politicians of "trying to make everyone genderless, sexless, and just absolutely Godless", and declared that Americans "want our culture back, and if you want to stand in the way of that, we will run you over."<ref>{{cite web|date=November 5, 2021|title=GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn Issues Sinister Warning To Anyone Opposing Him|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/madison-cawthorn-sexless-warning_n_6184e8c2e4b0ad6f58815715|access-date=November 22, 2021|website=[[Huffington Post]]|language=en|first1=Lee|last1=Moran|archive-date=November 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121165805/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/madison-cawthorn-sexless-warning_n_6184e8c2e4b0ad6f58815715|url-status=live}}</ref>

In a March 2022 interview, Cawthorn talked about "the sexual perversion that goes on in Washington" and said he had been invited to an orgy by an unnamed lawmaker. He also claimed that prominent Washington figures had used cocaine in front of him.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/30/house-republican-leaders-meet-with-rep-madison-cawthorn-after-comments-about-orgy-invitation-drug-use/|title=McCarthy: Cawthorn 'did not tell the truth' about orgy, drug claims|last=Sonmez|first=Felicia|date=March 30, 2022|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 30, 2022|archive-date=March 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331073904/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/30/house-republican-leaders-meet-with-rep-madison-cawthorn-after-comments-about-orgy-invitation-drug-use/|url-status=live}}</ref> In a closed-door meeting, multiple House Republicans complained about his comments.<ref name="NYT2022-03-30" /> Members of the [[Freedom Caucus]] considered ejecting Cawthorn from its membership.<ref name="Politico2022-03-29">{{Cite news |last=Beavers |first=Olivia |date=March 29, 2022 |title=Cawthorn's orgies-and-drugs comment stirs trouble within Freedom Caucus |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/29/cawthorn-orgies-freedom-caucus-00021548 |access-date=July 13, 2022 |work=[[Politico]] |language=en |archive-date=July 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710181136/https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/29/cawthorn-orgies-freedom-caucus-00021548 |url-status=live }}</ref> House Minority Leader [[Kevin McCarthy]] and Minority Whip [[Steve Scalise]] then met with Cawthorn.<ref name="NYT2022-03-30">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/us/politics/madison-cawthorn-congress.html|title=House Republicans Tire of Madison Cawthorn's Antics. Some in His District Have, Too.|last=Gabriel|first=Trip|date=March 30, 2022|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 30, 2022|archive-date=March 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330231216/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/us/politics/madison-cawthorn-congress.html|url-status=live}}</ref> McCarthy later told reporters that Cawthorn had admitted his claims were exaggerated or untrue: "He changes what he tells and that's not becoming of a congressman. He did not tell the truth [and] that's unacceptable." McCarthy said he had told Cawthorn that "He's lost my trust. He's going to have to earn it back."<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 30, 2022 |title=Rep. Madison Cawthorn admits lying about cocaine and orgies after tongue-lashing from GOP leaders |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/rep-madison-cawthorn-admits-lying-about-cocaine-and-orgies-after-tongue-lashing-from-gop-leaders/ |access-date=March 30, 2022 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331163241/https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/rep-madison-cawthorn-admits-lying-about-cocaine-and-orgies-after-tongue-lashing-from-gop-leaders/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

On November 16, 2022, Joel Burgess of the ''Asheville Citizen-Times'' wrote Cawthorn had vacated and shut down his offices two months before the end of his term.<ref name="Offices abandoned">{{cite news |last1=Burgess |first1=Joel |title=Madison Cawthorn vacates offices before end of term; constituents' calls go unanswered |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2022/11/16/madison-cawthorn-vacates-offices-before-end-of-term-congress-house-of-representatives/69653520007/ |access-date=November 18, 2022 |newspaper=Asheville Citizen-Times |date=November 16, 2022 |archive-date=September 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901021313/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2022/11/16/madison-cawthorn-vacates-offices-before-end-of-term-congress-house-of-representatives/69653520007/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He subsequently purchased a $1.1 million dollar home in Florida.<ref name="Offices abandoned" /> Responding to the news that constituent services calls were not being handled, EdwardsRep.-elect Chuck Edwards—who had defeated Cawthorn in the Republican congressional primary, and won the general invitedelection—invited people to contact his state senate office instead.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Houck |first=Taggart |date=November 17, 2022 |title=Congressman-elect begins work early after constituents ignored by current Congressman |url=https://www.wyff4.com/article/congressman-elect-begins-work-early-constituents-ignored-by-current-congressman/41997266 |access-date=November 21, 2022 |workpublisher=[[WYFF|WYFF TV]] News |language=en |archive-date=November 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121171100/https://www.wyff4.com/article/congressman-elect-begins-work-early-constituents-ignored-by-current-congressman/41997266 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cawthorn identifies as a [[constitutional conservative]] and describes his position on abortion rights as pro-life or [[Anti-abortion movements|anti-abortion]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Moon|first=Paul|title=Abortion, guns and freedom: How Madison Cawthorn's platform won WNC voters|url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/madison/2020/11/05/madison-cawthorn-stance-issues-attract-conservative-voters/6166637002/|access-date=November 4, 2021|newspaper=Asheville Citizen-Times|language=en-US|archive-date=April 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430002927/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/madison/2020/11/05/madison-cawthorn-stance-issues-attract-conservative-voters/6166637002/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Who is Madison Cawthorn? RNC speaker would be youngest member of Congress if he wins in November|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/08/26/who-madison-cawthorn-what-know-rnc-speaker/5640110002/|access-date=November 4, 2021|website=USA Today|language=en-US|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104073427/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/08/26/who-madison-cawthorn-what-know-rnc-speaker/5640110002/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, he joined the [[House Freedom Caucus]], a caucus of conservative House Republicans.<ref name="Fox2021-10-28">{{cite web|last=Morris|first=Kyle|date=October 28, 2021|title=Rep. Madison Cawthorn joins the House Freedom Caucus|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/madison-cawthorn-announces-he-has-joined-the-house-freedom-caucus|access-date=November 6, 2021|website=Fox News|language=en-US|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106005844/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/madison-cawthorn-announces-he-has-joined-the-house-freedom-caucus|url-status=live}}</ref> He describes himself as "[[Fiscal conservatism|fiscally conservative]]", says his stance on immigration is "conservative", and supports legal gun ownership, opposing [[Gun politics in the United States|gun control]] legislation.<ref>{{cite news|author=Kate Sullivan|title=Madison Cawthorn is the young political newcomer who beat Trump's pick in North Carolina|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/24/politics/madison-cawthorn-north-carolina-congress/index.html|access-date=November 4, 2021|website=CNN|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104073427/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/24/politics/madison-cawthorn-north-carolina-congress/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Cawthorn supports legal [[same-sex marriage]], but opposes [[Gender transitioning|gender transition]] treatments for minors.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mack |first=David |title=Most Of Gen Z Leans Left, But Their First Member Of Congress Will Probably Be Way To The Right |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/madison-cawthorn-gen-z-congress-youngest-north-carolina |access-date=April 22, 2022 |website=[[BuzzFeed News]]|date=June 27, 2020 |language=en |archive-date=March 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326020303/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/madison-cawthorn-gen-z-congress-youngest-north-carolina |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Burgess |first=Joel |title=Asheville LGBTQ activist, county official Jasmine Beach-Ferrara to run for Madison Cawthorn's House seat |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2021/03/03/asheville-lgbtq-activist-beach-ferrara-run-cawthorn-house-seat/6894985002/ |access-date=April 22, 2022 |newspaper=Asheville Citizen-Times |language=en-US |archive-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210303133709/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2021/03/03/asheville-lgbtq-activist-beach-ferrara-run-cawthorn-house-seat/6894985002/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 28, 2020 |title=Republicans are waffling on LGBTQ+ issues. Will it matter? |url=https://19thnews.org/2020/08/republicans-are-waffling-on-lgbtq-issues-will-it-matter/ |access-date=April 22, 2022 |website=The 19th |language=en-us |archive-date=January 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131042625/https://19thnews.org/2020/08/republicans-are-waffling-on-lgbtq-issues-will-it-matter/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He also supports [[Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials|removing Confederate statues]] because they commemorate [[Secession in the United States|secession from the United States]],<ref name="BuzzfeedCawthornIntro">{{cite web|title=Most Of Gen Z Leans Left, But Their First Member Of Congress Will Probably Be Way To The Right|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/madison-cawthorn-gen-z-congress-youngest-north-carolina|access-date=November 4, 2021|website=BuzzFeed News|date=June 27, 2020 |language=en|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104073427/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/madison-cawthorn-gen-z-congress-youngest-north-carolina|url-status=live}}</ref> though in June 2021 he voted against a bill that would remove statues of [[white supremacists]] and Confederates from the United States Capitol.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Peter |title=Cawthorn opposes removing statues of white supremacists |url=https://avlwatchdog.org/barks/cawthorn-opposes-removing-statues-of-white-supremacists-confederates/ |access-date=April 4, 2022 |work=Asheville Watchdog |publisher=LION Publishers |date=June 30, 2021 |archive-date=June 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630220420/https://avlwatchdog.org/barks/cawthorn-opposes-removing-statues-of-white-supremacists-confederates/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, Cawthorn voted against the [[Respect for Marriage Act]], legislation to codify same-sex marriage into federal law.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zero NC Republicans Voted for House Bill Protecting Marriage Equality |website=[[Cardinal & Pine]] |url=https://cardinalpine.com/story/zero-nc-republicans-voted-for-house-bill-protecting-marriage-equality/ |access-date=November 18, 2022 |publisher=[[Courier Newsroom]] |language=en-US |archive-date=November 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118201647/https://cardinalpine.com/story/zero-nc-republicans-voted-for-house-bill-protecting-marriage-equality/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Clare Foran,Kristin |date=July 19, 2022 |title=House passes bill to protect same-sex marriage in effort to counter Supreme Court |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/19/politics/house-vote-same-sex-marriage-protections-supreme-court/index.html |access-date=November 18, 2022 |work=CNN |language=en |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202131543/https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/19/politics/house-vote-same-sex-marriage-protections-supreme-court/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 19, 2022 |title=Roll Call 373 Roll Call 373, Bill Number: H. R. 8404, 117th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022373 |access-date=November 18, 2022 |website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |publisher=[[Clerk of the United States House of Representatives]] |language=en |archive-date=July 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725011120/https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022373 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cawthorn sponsored H.R. 6206, the American Tech Workforce Act of 2021, introduced by Representative [[Jim Banks]]. The legislation would establish a wage floor for the high-skill H-1B visa program, thereby significantly reducing employer dependence on the program. The bill would also eliminate the Optional Practical Training program that allows foreign graduates to stay and work in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6206/cosponsors?r=11&s=7 |title=Cosponsors - H.R.6206 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): American Tech Workforce Act of 2021 &#124; Congress.gov &#124; Library of Congress |publisher=U.S. Congress |date= December 9, 2021 |access-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703174107/https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6206/cosponsors?r=11&s=7 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On May 4, 2022, a video began circulating online that showed Cawthorn naked in bed, thrusting his genitals toward another man's face while moaning. Cawthorn said of the video, "Years ago, in this video, I was being crass with a friend, trying to be funny. We were acting foolish, and joking. That's it."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hanson |first1=Hillary |date=May 4, 2022 |title=Madison Cawthorn Says 'Blackmail Won't Win' After Nude Thrusting Video Leaks |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/madison-cawthorn-leaked-nude-video_n_626d40a7e4b0bc48f57c0a83 |access-date=May 5, 2022 |website=Huffington Post |archive-date=September 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901021312/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/madison-cawthorn-leaked-nude-video_n_626d40a7e4b0bc48f57c0a83 |url-status=live }}</ref> He called the video "[[blackmail]]" on Twitter after he had released an eight-minute video addressing it and other controversies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=Emily |date=May 5, 2022 |title=Cawthorn ramps up defense as crass videos add to mountain of bad press |url=https://thehill.com/news/house/3479047-cawthorn-ramps-up-defense-as-crass-videos-add-to-mountain-of-bad-press/ |access-date=May 6, 2022 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}</ref>

In April 2022, Cawthorn was briefly detained at an airport in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]], for attempting to board a commercial flight with a loaded handgun in his carry-on luggage. Police said he was cooperative, and he was cited for possession of a dangerous weapon on city property.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vigdor |first=Neil |date=April 26, 2022 |title=Madison Cawthorn Again Brought a Loaded Gun to the Airport, Officials Say |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/26/us/politics/madison-cawthorn-gun-airport.html |access-date=April 27, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426233858/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/26/us/politics/madison-cawthorn-gun-airport.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On May 5, 2023, Cawthorn pleaded guilty and was fined $250.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Sáenz |first1=Hunter |last2=Stolp |first2=Michael |date=May 5, 2023 |title=Former NC Rep. Madison Cawthorn pleads guilty after bringing gun through Charlotte airport |work=[[WSOC-TV]] |url=https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/former-nc-rep-madison-cawthorn-pleads-guilty-after-bringing-gun-through-charlotte-airport/XT6UOSWZ5VGUHDYXHFSFFEA4K4/ |access-date=May 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505143423/https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/former-nc-rep-madison-cawthorn-pleads-guilty-after-bringing-gun-through-charlotte-airport/XT6UOSWZ5VGUHDYXHFSFFEA4K4/ |url-status=live }}</ref> (The trial in [[Mecklenburg County, North Carolina|Mecklenburg County]] had originally been scheduled for January 13 but was delayed.)<ref>{{cite news |date=October 18, 2022 |title=Trial date set for Rep. Madison Cawthorn after being cited for having gun at Charlotte Douglas |language=en |work=[[WSOC-TV]] |publisher=[[Cox Media Group]] |url=https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/trial-date-set-rep-madison-cawthorn-after-being-cited-having-gun-charlotte-douglas/TDBJMQVSCFB6TEOE4XTFY5D6FY/ |access-date=October 28, 2022 |archive-date=October 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028001642/https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/trial-date-set-rep-madison-cawthorn-after-being-cited-having-gun-charlotte-douglas/TDBJMQVSCFB6TEOE4XTFY5D6FY/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilford |first=Trish |date=January 13, 2023 |title=Trial Delayed For Former NC Congressman Madison Cawthorn |language=en-US |work=[[WCCB]] TV news |url=https://www.wccbcharlotte.com/2023/01/13/trial-delayed-for-former-nc-congressman-madison-cawthorn/ |access-date=January 18, 2023 |archive-date=January 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117144218/https://www.wccbcharlotte.com/2023/01/13/trial-delayed-for-former-nc-congressman-madison-cawthorn/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

| title = North Carolina's 11th congressional district Republican primary runoff<ref>{{cite web |title=NC SBE Contest Results |url=https://er.ncsbe.gov/contest_details.html?election_dt=06/23/2020&county_id=0&contest_id=1001 |website=er.ncsbe.gov |publisher=North Carolina Board of Elections |access-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-date=September 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913080722/https://er.ncsbe.gov/contest_details.html?election_dt=06%2F23%2F2020&county_id=0&contest_id=1001 |url-status=live }}</ref>

| title = North Carolina's 11th congressional district general election<ref name="NCgenr">{{cite web |title=State Composite Abstract Report - Contest.pdf |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/State_Board_Meeting_Docs/2020-11-24/Canvass/State%20Composite%20Abstract%20Report%20-%20Contest.pdf |website=North Carolina State Board of Elections |access-date=November 24, 2020 |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115175352/https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/State_Board_Meeting_Docs/2020-11-24/Canvass/State%20Composite%20Abstract%20Report%20-%20Contest.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Election box begin no change|title=North Carolina's 11th congressional district Republican primary<ref>{{Cite web |title=NC SBE Election Contest Details |url=https://er.ncsbe.gov/contest_details.html?election_dt=05/17/2022&county_id=0&contest_id=2122 |access-date=November 19, 2022 |website=er.ncsbe.gov |archive-date=November 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119045310/https://er.ncsbe.gov/contest_details.html?election_dt=05/17/2022&county_id=0&contest_id=2122 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

[[Category:21st-century American politicianslegislators]]