Texas Rep. Is Pissed He Can’t Cook Ribs on His Capitol Hill Office Balcony

When a man isn't free to barbecue some ribs on his office balcony, is he truly free? Texas representative Louie Gohmert certainly doesn't think so.

Gohmert, a Republican who represents a district in eastern Texas, knows a thing or two about barbecue. He counts former president George W. Bush, as well as other politicians on both sides of the aisle, as fans of his recipe. He also knows a thing about government overreach, and this time, the bureaucrats in Washington of dipped their fingers into his special sauce.

In a rambling speech to the House of Representatives, Gohmert sought to bring attention to misplaced government oversight of federal agencies with a little anecdote about his famous ribs, reports The Hill. Like any normal American, he felt that his office balcony was the perfect place for some grilling—that is, until Big Brother came knocking.

The Architect of the Capitol (the agency that oversees the maintenance of the United States Capitol Complex), told him to put a halt to his grilling, on account of the fact that it was considered a fire hazard.

"About seven years ago, the Architect of the Capitol, who works for the House and Senate, had decided that we all work for him and started making demands. One of which was, I could not cook ribs and share them with other members of Congress," Gohmert said.

Fortunately, Gohmert has managed to circumvent those pesky fire and safety codes by moving his operations up to Michigan representative Fred Upton's office balcony, which apparently doesn't have the same fire restrictions.

Remember, the US once fought a war over tea. Don't trifle with our barbecue.