South Carolina Rep. Joe Cunningham learned a new lesson on Capitol Hill: brews aren't allowed inside the capitol.
Politico reporter Laura Barron-Lopez tweeted details about what happened to the freshman lawmaker from Charleston Friday. Apparently, he tried to bring a six-pack of beer on to the floor. He was told that wasn't allowed.
“'It’s Friday too,' he said laughing as he turned around,'" she reported on Twitter.
Apparently he was trying to show some fellow lawmakers an assortment of South Carolina locally brewed brands.
"Making friends when you're a freshman is hard and I thought I'd grease the skids with some Lowcountry beer," Cunningham later said on Twitter. "Thankfully Rep. Peter DeFazio got it in the end! Can I join the beer caucus now?"
Cunningham also said that the Lowcountry has the best craft breweries in the county. The beer was apparently from Westbrook Beer and Coast Brewing.
"They're run by entrepreneurs who create thousands of good local jobs and produce the finest beer around," he wrote. "I'll never apologize for promoting them."
Barron-Lopez later tweeted a picture of the beer in question.
Cunningham represents the First Congressional District, which runs from Charleston to Hilton Head. He won the seat in November in a major political upset, since the First District has been held exclusively by Republicans since 1981. Mendel Davis was the last Democrat to hold the seat before not seeking re-election to Congress for health reasons during the 1980 campaign.
He's also the first new Democrat in Congress from the state in 25 years.
