The Hill News

Rep. Allen West's (R-Fla.) opposition to oil-and-gas drilling in the Everglades put him on the side of his fellow Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), who West has feuded with publicly.

West called Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-Minn.) suggestion last weekend that the U.S. consider drilling in the Everglades "an incredible faux pas" at a town hall event in Florida on Tuesday.

Suggesting that the U.S. drill in the Everglades is "a horrible thing to say. The Everglades is one of the natural wonders of the world," West said in comments reported by the Palm Beach Post on Wednesday. "That's an incredible ecosystem and it's a wetland that is natural and pristine and that's something we have to preserve for our future generations."

West's opposition to the idea puts him in surprising company, joining his usual Florida Democratic foil.

Wasserman Schultz, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, responded to Bachmann's remarks on Monday, calling it an "unthinkable, reckless and irresponsible" proposal.

“The Everglades isn’t just a national treasure and habitat for many enda! ngered species, it’s also Florida’s main source of drinkin! g and fa rming water, is a safeguard against flooding that threatens our state during hurricane season and is vitally important to our state’s tourism industry," Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. "As a Floridian, I can see that Michele Bachmann's outrageous proposal to drill for oil and natural gas in the Everglades, demonstrates just how out of touch Republicans are with the needs of Floridians and all Americans."

Last month, West attacked Wasserman Schultz in an email as "the most vile, unprofessional, and despicable member of the US House of Representatives.” Now they seem to have found some common ground.

"When I see [Bachmann] next week, I'll straighten her out about that," West said. Lawmakers will return ! to Washington, D.C. next week as Congress returns to session.