Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) spent much of his now waning time in the spotlight as a party leader for House Republicans helping prop up the same far-right wing of his party that later booted him from the role of House Speaker. He complained on Tuesday (the day that happened) about a supposed lack of respect for the “institution” from the Democrats who didn’t come to his rescue in the vote on whether he’d stay in that job, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) swiftly set the record straight.
McCarthy went so far that he was among the many House Republicans who voted against the full certification of the 2020 presidential election results, which isn’t exactly a mark of somebody devoted to institutional integrity! McCarthy also directed the formulation of an ostensibly formalized impeachment inquiry targeting the president without a formal House vote to start the process, a break with precedent.
“If McCarthy cared so much for the institution, he wouldn’t have opened a baseless impeachment w/o a House vote (as he promised &broke),” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Tuesday on X (formerly Twitter). “If he cared for the institution, he wouldn’t have voted to overturn election results. He would’ve honored his debt limit deal w/ the President. One would think after years of striving, McCarthy would have studied lessons left by predecessors Boehner and Ryan, who also fell at their destructive wing. It was McCarthy’s choice to empower them further. He protected them & punished those who bucked Trump. He’s not a victim.”
House Republicans were struggling to coalesce behind a single candidate for Speaker after McCarthy’s removal and subsequent announcement he wouldn’t be seeking to return to the role. Speculation focused on Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) — and the longshot idea Donald Trump, who was specifically named in expressions of support from Republicans in the House including (you guessed it) Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.).
