Republican Says Smoking of Cigars Inside the Capitol Is 'About Freedom'

Republican Representative Troy Nehls has said that smoking cigars in the U.S. Capitol is "about freedom" following a number of reports of an apparent uptick in smoking among GOP members of the House of Representatives.

Nehls, who represents Texas' 22nd congressional district, spoke to Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Friday with three cigars visible in his left breast pocket and criticized the focus some journalists have placed on Republican's smoking.

A number of members of the press corps recently highlighted the fact that smoking seems to have become more commonplace now that the GOP is in the House majority.

Members of the House are permitted to smoke in their offices, which are exempt from D.C's requirement that public buildings should be smoke-free.

Carlson described smoking tobacco as "the most American of all pleasures" and added it had "founded the country."

"Tell us why it's important for you to burn a cigar occasionally in your office," Carlson asked.

"It's all about freedom," Nehls replied. "It's interesting the dishonest media and those - they want to complain about a little smoke coming out of my cigar. They don't want to talk about the inflation or the crime or the southern border."

"And people have been enjoying cigars - nations, leaders, world's leaders - from Winston Churchill to United States presidents, from Andrew Jackson to Theodore Roosevelt, Nixon, JFK - they liked smoking their cigars. We even know that Bill Clinton, he enjoyed a good cigar every once in a while," he said.

"So I don't know what all the hoopla is about," Nehls said, acknowledging that in 2007 then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi banned smoking in most of the Capitol.

Nehls explained that the ban meant "you can't smoke cigars on the House floor or in committee hearings but it did not include member's offices. So, a member's House office, we've always been able to smoke cigars."

"There are many of us in the cigar caucus - about 30 of us - that enjoy a good cigar in our office and we do so," Nehls said.

He added that he had been smoking cigars for two years and "nobody complains about it but now they want to come after us because we're in the majority. This is typical from the left. They want to infringe on our rights. They want to complain about our smoke, they're probably complaining about my aftershave or the color of my tie. It doesn't end."

Several journalists who cover the Capitol took to Twitter this week to highlight smoking in the lawmakers' offices.

"So there's indoor smoking on the House side of the Capitol now that the Republicans have taken control," tweeted Reuters reporter Patricia Zengerle on Tuesday.

Ursula Perano of The Daily Beast described "some cigar hotboxing happening in a certain Rules Committee chairman's office, which is nearby the House press gallery. And the smell is...... strong."

The rules committee chairman is Republican Representative Tom Cole, who recently said "I'm not giving up cigars," according to Chris Cioffi, a reporter with Bloomberg Tax.

In 1997, then President Bill Clinton signed an executive order that limited smoking in federal buildings and in 2007, Pelosi banned smoking from most of the Capitol, including the Speaker's Lobby where some lawmakers had previously been known to smoke.

Smoking is not permitted on the Senate side of the Capitol building, however, and there is no equivalent to the Speaker's Lobby. Smoking on the floor of the House was banned in 1871 and on the Senate floor in 1914.

Newsweek has asked Troy Nehls' office for comment.