McCarthy out of Congress: Ousted Rep. Speaker will leave end of month
Advertising
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will retire at the end of this month, he announced Wednesday. In an article for the Wall Street Journal, he boasted of the House of Representatives’ accomplishments under his chairmanship. “It is in this spirit that I have decided to leave the House of Representatives at the end of this year to serve America in a new way. I know my work is just beginning,” 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 ready to share my experience to support the next generation of leaders.” McCarthy first took office in the House of Representatives in 2007. He quickly rose through the ranks, going from Deputy Whip, Majority Whip, Majority Leader, then Minority Leader, and then Speaker.
After the California Republican received fifteen ballots for speaker in January, he was removed from office by his colleagues nine months later over a clean spending bill he brought to the House floor. He was the first speaker ever to be removed from office by motion of dismissal. The Republican majority in the House will now be reduced to two with McCarthy’s departure after Rep. George Santos, D-N.Y., was expelled last week.
A special election to fill Santos’ seat will be held on February 13. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., weighed in on the shrinking X majority. “Well… Now, in 2024, we will have a one-seat majority in the House of Representatives. Representatives. Congratulations to the Freedom Caucus on the one hand and the 105 representatives who excluded ours on the other. I can assure you that Republican voters did not give us the majority to break the ship. I hope no one dies.”
The retirement announcement follows that of Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., a close McCarthy ally who helped him negotiate a debt-limit agreement with the White House. McHenry will complete his term and will not seek re-election.
“Regardless of the odds or personal loss, we did the right thing,” McCarthy wrote. “It may seem out of fashion in Washington these days, but achieving results for the American people is still celebrated across the country.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, reacted to the news on Channel X: “McLevin.”
Gaetz filed the motion to vacate after McCarthy introduced a “clean” continuing resolution, or CR, in the House to keep government spending at 2023 levels for six weeks and avoid a government shutdown. Gaetz and other conservatives wanted to see deep spending cuts and no CR.
Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page here and click the “Subscribe” button above to get more news you need.