Troy Nehls

US Representative Troy Nehls (R-TX) holds a cigar following a procedural vote on whether to send the potential impeachment of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, November 10, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

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Retiring MAGA congressman Troy Nehls lost it on his own colleagues Tuesday night after they were handed a midterm bloodbath.

Nehls slammed reporters as “knuckleheads” as they asked him if President Donald Trump was to blame for the historic election that handed Democrats a massive majority in the House, as well as control of the Senate.

“Donald Trump’s the greatest president of our lifetime,” he said while chomping on a cigar as he left Congress.

“We had an opportunity to follow his lead because he's the leader of our party. And what did we do? We squandered the time.”

Nehls, who announced his retirement after six years in the House, claiming he wanted to spend more time with his family, will be replaced by his twin brother, Trever Nehls.

But across Texas, and indeed the country, many of his party colleagues fell.

In fact, Texas became a blue state for the first time since the 1990s, winning a Senate seat and the governorship.

Nehls said it was because Republicans in Congress failed to achieve what Trump was trying to do.

“The American people said, I gave you 20 months,” he said.

“We elected you in 2024, unified government, go out there and do great, great for America.

“And what do we do? One Big, Beautiful Bill. That's about it.

Asked specifically if Trump’s role in the Texas races, particularly his strong endorsement of Ken Paxton, who lost his Senate race to Democrat James Talarico, he said, “Ken Paxton … they all got beat. Don't some of you knuckleheads read the news? The whole damn state got beat. The whole state.

“So what are you talking about, Ken Paxton? If John Cornyn would have been on the ballot, he'd have got his a– kicked. Be honest once. Just be honest, folks.”

He added, "I don't want to hear about blaming Donald Trump about this."

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