House Republican leadership has reportedly banned Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) from international travel because of an “alcohol-related episode” in Mexico this summer, but a source with knowledge of the alleged incident debunks the reporting of the alleged banning.
The ban is reportedly for three months.
As first reported by Punchbowl News, the incident took place in August. The Texas Republican and other GOP members are reported to have been in an official Congressional delegation (CODEL) visit to Mexico, and Rep. Crenshaw was allegedly “having drinks with a group of Mexican officials.”
According to Andrew Desiderio, the Punchbowl reporter who first covered the incident, “one Mexican official cracked a crude joke that made a woman present uncomfortable. Crenshaw toasted the remarks.”
During an August trip to Mexico, Crenshaw was having drinks with a group of Mexican officials. One Mexican official cracked a crude joke that made a woman present uncomfortable. Crenshaw toasted the remarks.
Johnson, Crawford and Crenshaw huddled at the beginning of September…
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) November 19, 2025
Desiderio reports that a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford followed, which grew “heated” and led to the three-month international travel ban.
Since the news broke, Rep. Crenshaw has addressed the incident on social media, calling it a “clickbait story.”
Big problem with this clickbait story: I was booked to go on an overseas CODEL, which was fully approved by House Ethics, from October 1st to October 6th of this year. The CODEL was canceled right before departure due to the government shutdown, but not due to any so-called… https://t.co/ZyJttrSju7
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) November 20, 2025
“I was booked to go on an overseas CODEL, which was fully approved by House Ethics, from October 1st to October 6th of this year,” the Texas lawmaker explained on X. “The CODEL was canceled right before departure due to the government shutdown, but not due to any so-called ‘travel ban.’”
Rep. Crenshaw attributed the story to "the usual media playbook of publishing sensational stories based on [anonymous] sources and incorrect facts."
A source with knowledge of the trip supported the Texas lawmakers' explanation, telling Texas Politics that the issue concerned a toast to a Mexican officer made at an event attended by senior Mexican officials and Congressional Members of both parties—not something Representative Crenshaw said or did.
The source added that Crenshaw had an approved trip scheduled for October, but had it canceled because of the government shutdown, not due to “travel ban.“
This story features reporting by Raeylee Barefield
