Kevin McCarthy Uses Speaker Speech to Absolutely Torch Democratic Leadership
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Friday contrasted the accomplishments of Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio with congressional Democrats as he nominated Jordan to be speaker of the House.
Jordan went on to lose the vote, his third defeat.
“As the leader of the Judiciary Committee, Jim has passed more bills through the House in just three years than the entire Democrat leadership team that has a collective 28 years in Congress,” McCarthy said in a speech.
Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, McCarthy said, “has a whopping one whole bill signed into law — a post office in San Bernardino.”
“I guess that’s good enough to be caucus chair.”
.@Jim_Jordan has passed more legislation through the House in the last 3 years than the entire Democrat leadership team with their collective 28 years in Congress. pic.twitter.com/vCQCTSVPkP
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) October 20, 2023
At the beginning of his nomination speech, McCarthy called Jordan an “effective legislator.”
“To legislate is about more than the name on the bill; it’s about reaching compromise and working long hours behind the scenes to get the job done,” McCarthy said.
At that point, some members of the House started jeering, leading Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina to call for order.
“Some of [the] members I know with the most bills to their name are the most selfish. Jim Jordan, on the other hand, is one of the most selfless members I’ve known,” McCarthy said later in his speech.
“Trust me, being speaker is not an easy job, especially in this conference,” McCarthy concluded. “But I’ve seen Jim spend his entire career fighting for freedom no matter what, no matter the odds. And I know he’s ready for the job.”
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) October 20, 2023
After the vote, McCarthy said, “We are in a very bad place right now,” according to CNN.
“It’s 4 percent, eight members here — crazy members led by Gaetz — that put us in a bad situation,” McCarthy said, referring to Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who led the effort that brought down McCarthy over two weeks ago.
On Friday, some of the eight Republicans who opposed McCarthy sent the House Republican Conference a letter saying they are “prepared to accept censure, suspension, or removal from the Conference” in order to get Jordan elected.
The letter was signed by Republican Reps. Bob Good of Virginia, Gaetz, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Matt Rosendale of Montana, and Andy Biggs and Elijah Crane of Arizona, according to The Washington Post.
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