Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had a heated exchange with reporters Friday about the House’s continuing dilemma, accusing Democrats of creating “chaos in Congress.”
After House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was nominated as the top candidate on Friday night, lawmakers went into recess for the weekend without a vote in the House.
CNN’s Manu Raju asked McCarthy whether Acting Speaker Patrick Henry, RN.C., should assume more power as Congress is gridlocked due to divisions in the House. California Republicans deflected questions and shifted the blame for the drama of the speakership to Democrats.
“So they’ve been really obstructive, they’ve created chaos in Congress, and now they’re trying to impede our ability to achieve continuity in Congress. I think this is a real problem, Democrats did it. That’s true,” McCarthy said.
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Mr. Jordan’s nomination for speaker comes 10 days after Mr. McCarthy was ousted from office by eight Republicans and all Democrats in a historic vote, and by Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana). The election came a day after he resigned after failing to receive enough support from the Republican Party.
Mr. Raju asked Mr. McCarthy how he thought recent “episodes” reflected on the Republican Party. McCarthy argued that Democrats didn’t want to pay military personnel in government shutdown negotiations, “and that’s why they wanted to get rid of me.”
Asked what would happen to the 18 Republicans representing battleground states that Biden won in 2020, the former speaker said he would find that “all the Democrats voted to create chaos.”
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks with reporters as Republicans hold their caucuses at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
“You can’t govern,” the reporter interjected, pointing out that all bills in the House are currently pending without a permanent speaker.
Fumbling for his words, McCarthy said Republicans “passed the Parents’ Bill of Rights.” We went through to secure the border. We achieved energy independence for America. ”
“So that’s … very different from what Democrats think. I mean, Democrats are fighting about whether they can even stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel here,” McCarthy added.
Raju went further, adding: “You can’t even act on aid to Israel because the situation is so stalled.”
So far, Jordan has received 152 votes, defeating last-minute candidate Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), but still falls short of the 217 votes needed to win the gavel.
If Jordan can get enough support from the remaining Republicans, he will face Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York in the full House.
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