As the song says, “The party’s over. It’s time to call it a day.” Just ask former speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Top News Today :
He spent a lifetime dreaming of one day becoming the US Speaker of the House of Representatives. In January, he embarrassed himself by making multiple “deals with the devil” just to get the job he coveted. He spent a week begging members of his own party to hand him the speaker’s position. After 15 rounds of voting, Republicans finally handed him the job. However, by October, those same Republicans voted to kick him out of the speaker’s office and return him to the ranks of being an ordinary congressman.
Now, former speaker Kevin McCarthy has had enough and waved the white flag. On Wednesday, he announced he will quit Congress at the end of this year and will not seek re-election.
“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,” McCarthy said in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.
“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,” McCarthy added.
Although McCarthy threatened to quit Congress as soon as he was removed as speaker, many Republicans assumed he was merely feeling wounded and wouldn’t actually follow through with the threat. Too bad for them that they were wrong.
With former speaker McCarthy stepping down from Congress, the governor of his state will have the authority to appoint a replacement. Interestingly, that task will fall to Gov. Gavin Newsom of California — a Democrat. Or, in other words, McCarthy’s decision to quit will hand Democrats an additional House seat and gravely harm the ultra-slim majority Republicans hold in Congress.
This comes after congressional Republicans already lost a seat earlier this week by ousting GOP Rep. George Santos of New York. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul — a Democrat — will appoint his replacement meaning Republicans have now lost 2 House seats in just a matter of days.
The news of McCarthy’s decision brought mixed emotions from members of his party.
“Speaker McCarthy is a leader of conviction and I have been proud to stand alongside him. We will miss you on the House Floor, my friend,” GOP Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida said on X/Twitter.
Former speaker McCarthy is “irreplaceable in terms of the value that he brought to our delegation and the entire conference,” posted GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley of California.
However, it was McCarthy’s arch nemesis — GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida — who made it clear that after being responsible for kicking McCarthy out of the speaker’s chair, he doesn’t plan to shed a single tear once the former speaker is gone.
Gaetz’s one-word goodbye to former speaker McCarthy was simple: “McLeavin.”
Is it possible that McCarthy purposely chose to quit now just to stick it to those Republicans who already stuck it to him — thereby allowing the Democrats to gain a seat upon his departure? Â
Hmmm…
OK WASSUP! discusses the Top News Today:
Former speaker Kevin McCarthy quits Congress.
The truth is, though I thought he would leave sooner rather than later, his decision to leave by the end of this year surprised even me!
Becoming Speaker is all Kevin dreamed of – and for a brief moment he had it. And then his own party took it from him.
Po’ fella. He, like most of his Repub colleagues, sold his Soul for Nothing … and Nothing is all he has to show for it..smh!