GOP speaker moves to punish own member over 'final solution' post toward Jewish colleague

The New Hampshire House of Representatives has moved toward "disciplinary proceedings" against GOP Rep. Travis Corcoran over social media posts he made that appeared to attack colleagues using language from the Holocaust.

According to New Hampshire Public Radio, "At issue for Corcoran — who maintains a busy schedule of social media traffic — are recent posts on X, in which he called for a 'final solution' in response to a karaoke night invitation from a Jewish lawmaker, and another in which he talked of deporting a fellow lawmaker who was born in the Philippines: 'She has to go back,' he wrote."

House Speaker Sherman Packard, himself a Republican, has condemned the remarks and moved for punishment.

"Corcoran's online conduct, which often includes inflammatory and offensive posts, has been under scrutiny in Concord for some time. A letter Packard sent Corcoran this week indicated his office has been receiving complaints about his social media activity for more than a year," said the report. "'Your verified public writings are negative, targeted and purposely written to leave a hate-filled interpretation,' Packard wrote Corcoran. 'In sum, your statements are disrespectful, inappropriate and unworthy of the dignity of our state legislature.'"

Packard also faulted Corcoran's failure to respond to communications from a bipartisan legislative group that reviews complaints against members.

This sort of letter, known as a "caution letter," is relatively uncommon, with just nine having been issued since 2019 in what is the nation's largest state legislative body: "They include rude behavior by a lawmaker at a state DMV office; another lawmaker telling members of the public to 'shut up;' and another being dismissive to people weighing in on legislation who are not from New Hampshire."

When an NHPR reporter asked Corcoran for comment, he replied, “My only comment for NPR, is that NPR is regime media, the end.”