House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) admitted to the Los Angeles Times that he attended his son’s largely maskless wedding during a coronavirus surge in California on December 5 — the same day he attacked Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for attending his own maskless party at the exclusive French Laundry restaurant.
Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 194
What Just Happened?
Trial Balloon · Ep. 194: What Just Happened?
Schiff Says McCarthy ‘Has No Values’
House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) told NBC News that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) “has no values.”
Said Schiff: “Kevin McCarthy stands for nothing except the perpetuation of his own position. He has no values, and in my view cares about little except for hoping to be speaker one day.”
House GOP May Oust McCarthy If Trump Loses
A cluster of Republican lawmakers is apparently considering a plot to oust House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, as the GOP ponders its post-Trump future, the Washington Post reports.
“According to interviews with more than 10 House Republicans — all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to be frank — some GOP lawmakers are worried that McCarthy has tied the conference too much to Trump, refusing to stand up to the president or act as a buffer to distinguish the conference from him.”
“Others are also furious that he didn’t shield them from a recent Trump campaign demand that House members donate to the president’s reelection effort.”
Ad Defending Trump Includes Russian Stock Footage
House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) unveiled a new ad defending President Trump while he remains the subject of an impeachment investigation, The Week reports.
However, the ad includes stock footage that appears to have been shot in Russia.
McCarthy Blocked Bid to Limit China’s Role in U.S. Transit
“House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) blocked a bipartisan attempt to limit Chinese companies from contracting with U.S. transit systems, a move that benefited a Chinese government-backed manufacturer with a plant in his district,” the Washington Post reports.
“His behind-the-scenes intervention came as Congress was trying this year to craft a spending compromise to avert another government shutdown. McCarthy pressed lawmakers to strip out language that could have prevented the company in his district, BYD Motors, from winning federal contracts, and they relented because they feared imperiling the bill.”
McCarthy Says Alabama Abortion Law Is Too Extreme
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said that he opposes a new Alabama law that outlaws virtually all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest, arguing that it “goes further than I believe,” the Washington Post reports.
Said McCarthy: “I believe in exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother, and that’s what I’ve voted on.”
Top Republican Says Mueller Probe Was a Coup Attempt
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told the Washington Post that he agrees with President Trump’s assessment that he was the subject of an attempted “coup” during the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Said McCarthy: “Their actions are a coup I do not believe they were abiding by the rule of law based on what they said.”
McCarthy Tells Trump to Back Off on Obamacare
“Reflecting widespread concerns within his party, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has told President Trump he disagrees with the Trump administration’s attempt to get the entire Affordable Care Act thrown out in court,” Axios reports.
“McCarthy told Trump over the phone that the decision made no sense — especially after Democrats killed Republicans in the midterms in part over the issue of pre-existing conditions.”
“McCarthy is far from alone in this view. Republican lawmakers and officials are exasperated about the Justice Department’s position and about Trump’s substance-free declaration that Republicans will become ‘The Party of Healthcare.'”
McCarthy Asks Democrats to Embrace Bipartisanship
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is encouraging incoming Democratic lawmakers to embrace bipartisanship, arguing such an approach benefits constituents more than a “partisan food fight” and investigations, The Hill reports.
Said McCarthy: “If the next Congress devolves into a partisan food fight of accusations and investigations, it will come at the expense of real Americans. A minority of loud voices seem to prefer that outcome, but I think our country is too great for a vision so small.”
McCarthy Worried Democrats Will Focus on Investigations
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Fox News that Democrats shouldn’t focus on investigating President Trump when they retake the House majority in January because there are bigger issues facing the country.
Said McCarthy: “It looks like what they’re going to focus on is just more investigations. I think America’s too great of a nation to have such a small agenda.”
Trump Meddles In House GOP Leadership Race
“On the eve of Kevin McCarthy’s long-awaited defeat of his nemesis, Rep. Jim Jordan, President Trump is jumping into the fray to play peacemaker,” Politico reports.
“Trump has privately urged the House majority leader to strike a dealwith the conservative Freedom Caucus founder, who is challenging McCarthy for the minority leader post next Congress, multiple lawmakers and aides said. It remains unclear what exactly the deal would entail.”
“The discussions between the president and McCarthy about Jordan, which took place last week, set off a round of speculation among lawmakers inside the Capitol that Trump may try to push Jordan to become the top Republican lawmaker on the House Judiciary Committee, a panel expected to launch an array of Democratic investigations against the president — and possibly even an impeachment probe.”
Playbook: “The Freedom Caucus is all but dead at this point, and McCarthy is going to easily put away Jordan in this leadership race. But they are now viewing how McCarthy treats Jordan as a litmus test.”
GOP Losses Made Leadership Vote Easier for McCarthy
Los Angeles Times: “McCarthy spent the months since Paul Ryan announced his retirement quietly shoring up his support for a bid for speaker among the Republican conference and acting as a top campaign surrogate by raising money and support for colleagues across the country.”
“But some had questioned if McCarthy had done enough to court the most conservative members of the conference. … But the calculus is different for a minority leader race compared with a speaker’s race, which should make it easier for McCarthy to lock it down.”
McCarthy Suggests Caravan Is Politically Motivated
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told WZFG that the migrant caravan traveling to the southern border “could be” politically motivated.
Said McCarty: “I’m not sure, but it could be. Cause one thing, you can’t put a caravan like this together without resources and others. And there’s questions about the timing, but why is it being encouraged and what is happening here?
McCarthy’s Family Benefited from Program for Minorities
“A company owned by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) in-laws won more than $7 million in no-bid and other federal contracts at U.S. military installations and other government properties in California based on a dubious claim of Native American identity by McCarthy’s brother-in-law,” a Los Angeles Times investigation has found.
“The prime contracts, awarded through a federal program designed to help disadvantaged minorities, were mostly for construction projects at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in McCarthy’s Bakersfield-based district, and the Naval Air Station Lemoore in nearby Kings County.”
Trump Backs McCarthy as Next Speaker
“At a private fundraiser at his namesake hotel, President Trump on Thursday night appeared to back Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to be the next Speaker,” several attendees told The Hill.
McCarthy Says Anonymous Op-Ed Is Proof of ‘Deep State’
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Fox News that the anonymous New York Times op-ed serves as proof that the deep state — “somebody high in government that will hide behind media to work against the voters of America” — really exists.
Said McCarthy: “We have a Constitution. We have a responsibility to uphold. This individual thinks they are smarter than the voters of America.”
McCarthy Wants Twitter CEO to Testify
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) “sent a letter to the chairman of a powerful House committee to ask that he publicly grill Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey over recent allegations that the platform limits the reach of some conservative accounts,” Axios reports.
McCarthy Launches Stealth Campaign for Speaker
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) “is quietly lining up votes to succeed Paul Ryan as speaker, reaching out to key lawmakers across the Republican Conference and asking whether they will commit to back him as speaker next January,” Politico reports.
“In public, McCarthy says he’s not campaigning for the job, saying it’s more important to focus on saving the Republican majority in the House than a campaign for the top leadership post. Yet running for speaker is precisely what McCarthy is doing.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
More about Taegan Goddard →