Gettin' outta House
Ex-Speaker McCarthy is leaving at year's end
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the year, saying his “work is only getting started” in recruiting other Republicans to run for Congress.
McCarthy (R-Calif.), 58, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that 17 years after first running to serve California in the House, he had “decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways.”
“I’m an optimist. How could I not be? I’m the son of a firefighter. For 17 years I’ve served in the same congressional seat — the same office in which I was once denied an internship. Only in America,” he wrote.
“I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office. The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders.”
His departure will bring House Republicans’ majority down to two votes, following the expulsion of lying Rep. George Santos (LI) last week.
On Oct. 3, eight GOP lawmakers led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) voted to oust McCarthy, claiming that he had failed to uphold concessions he made with hardliners to win the gavel in January.
The accusation followed a bipartisan vote in the House to fund the government at current levels until Nov. 17, with Gaetz also alleging McCarthy agreed to a “secret side deal” with President Biden over Ukraine aid.
His removal, which was the first in the lower chamber’s history, kicked off weeks of infighting in the Republican caucus as three successive candidates were put forward and failed to replace the McCarthy.
The fracas revealed deep tensions between moderates and conservatives in the Republican caucus, as holdout votes kept each nominee from a path to victory.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (NC), who announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of this term next year, was briefly installed as speaker pro tempore to preside over the conference votes, but stressed it was outside his authority to pass legislation in the interim.
The GOP eventually coalesced around then-Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson (La.), elevating him to the speaker’s chair in a unanimous floor vote a little more than three weeks after McCarthy was deposed.
After taking office, Johnson passed two funding bills that extended current federal spending until Jan. 19, 2024, and Feb. 2, 2024, respectively.
He also agreed to pass further military aid for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, so long as border security measures are also passed by Congress.
Gaetz’s ‘revenge’
McCarthy has repeatedly claimed that Gaetz chose to remove him because as speaker he declined to put to bed a House Ethics Committee probe into Gaetz. The ethics inquiry concerns allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, campaign-finance violations, and took bribes.
The accusations come as the hardline representative is reportedly considering a run for governor of the Sunshine State.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), a staunch McCarthy ally who continued to vote for the speaker on successive ballots after his removal, said McCarthy had “encouraged [him] to run for Congress and has been an incredible advocate for our community and the nation.”
“We will miss you on the House Floor, my friend,” Gimenez said.
Gaetz took a victory lap Wednesday, posting a one-word response on X to the news: “McLeavin.”
A GOP source told The Post, “Leaving the Republicans with a two-seat majority is his last elbow in the back to the party that put their future in his hands,” referencing an accusation from Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), one of the eight who voted to oust the speaker, that McCarthy elbowed him before a recent conference meeting.
McCarthy in his op-ed said his tenure may have seemed “out of fashion” to some in Washington, DC, but emphasized that he had done “the right thing” while leading the GOP majority.
“Even with slim margins in the House, we passed legislation to secure the border, achieve energy independence, reduce crime, hold government accountable and establish a Parents’ Bill of Rights. We did exactly what we said we would do,” he wrote.
But in an apparent parting shot at the dysfunction of his caucus, he argued “[t]he challenges we face are more likely to be solved by innovation than legislation” as well as “everyday men and women who are raising families, showing up for work, volunteering, and pursuing the American Dream with passion and purpose.”