McCarthy said he would be leaving Congress at the end of the year
The House of Representatives is going to hell with former U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy after a Three-Week Debacle
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., says he will retire from the House of Representatives at the end of this year, departing before the end of his term.
He wrote that he did the right thing regardless of the odds or personal cost. Delivery of results for the American people is still celebrated in this country despite the fact that it may seem out of fashion in Washington.
McCarthy was removed as speaker in a rare vote on a motion to remove the chair. His ouster led to a three-week debacle where Washington was paralyzed as the House was unable to function as the Republican conference struggled to reach consensus on a new leader.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday that the state will hold a special election to fill Santos’ seat on February 13, 2024. McCarthy’s replacement will need to be held in a special election, and it could take weeks.
The vacancies put huge pressure on House leaders who already struggled to pass partisan legislation, with key appropriations bills either failing or being pulled from consideration because of a lack of GOP support.
The conference was so volatile that Johnson was forced to rely on the votes of Democrats to keep the government funded through the end of the year.
Now, unless Republicans manage to overcome their so-far intractable differences, McCarthy’s departure could force Johnson to yet again rely on Democrats to advance must-pass legislation.
The first deadline for Congress to approve new spending authority is in just over a month, when the first funding bills run out on January 19. The remaining spending bills run out on Feb. 2.
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For Mr. McCarthy, who has struggled to adjust to life as a rank-and-file lawmaker, the early departure holds nothing but upside. The member who left Congress for lobbying is banned from rejoining for a year. If he had served out his term, Mr. McCarthy would have been able to start earning money in the private sector a year early, but he decided to resign this month.
“Kevin McCarthy represents everything that is wrong with congressional Republicans and bears much of the responsibility for the rise of the cult of MAGA and Trump,” Kyle Herrig, the executive director of the Congressional Integrity Project, an advocacy group, said in a statement.
