Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed [SEE HERE] that he is leaving congress at the end of this year and will not seek reelection.
This announcement follows significant sunlight upon the GOPe wing of the DC Uniparty, as the big ugly battle between the voting base and the detached professional Republican apparatus rages on. Based on policy advocacy and votes registered, there are approximately 100 establishment GOP House Republicans, who represent DC interests, and approximately 100 Republicans in the House who honor the representative wishes of their constituents. It is a pretty even split.
Despite that 50/50 reality, the pragmatic conservative base, the America-First MAGA movement, is in far better shape than ever before. Having slightly more than half of the Republican House representing the people is significantly more than in the past 20 years. Thanks to the sunlight provided by Donald Trump, we have made progress. Here’s McCarthy’s announcement.
(Via Wall Street Journal) – 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.
I helped lead Republicans to a House majority—twice. We got more Republican women, veterans and minorities elected to Congress at one time than ever before. I remained cheerfully persistent when elected speaker because I knew what we could accomplish.
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.
We kept our eyes on America’s long-term global challenges by restoring the Intelligence Committee to its original charter and establishing a bipartisan Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
We reduced the deficit by more than $2 trillion, revamped work requirements for adults on the sidelines, cut red tape for critical domestic energy projects, and protected the full faith and credit of the U.S. We kept our government operating and our troops paid while wars broke out around the world.
No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing. That may seem out of fashion in Washington these days, but delivering results for the American people is still celebrated across the country.
It is in this spirit that I have decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways. I know my work is only getting started.
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. (read more)
McCarthy’s departure represents a significant change in the GOPe apparatus. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to shift the Republican Party back to a party that is focused on America, but it is much improved this year.
On Tuesday, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and a former member of House GOP leadership, said he wouldn’t run for re-election, though he will serve out the remainder of his term.
[McCarthy’s] retirement will also kick off a race for his Bakersfield-based district seat, which is solidly red. And there are plenty of ambitious GOP politicians eager for a rare shot at a safe seat. If McCarthy resigns after Friday at 5 p.m., as expected, then Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom can choose whether to call a special election or keep the seat vacant until the next election. He chose the latter in 2020, when former Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) resigned after pleading guilty to misusing campaign funds.
If McCarthy formally steps down before Friday at 5 p.m., then Newsom would have to call the special election due to filing deadline rules. (more)
