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Kevin McCarthy tells colleagues he will not run for House Speaker again
Kevin McCarthy has told House Republicans that he will not run for Speaker again, after the House voted to oust him from the post hours earlier.
Reuters is citing Republican congressman Kevin Hern, who said:
[McCarthy] just felt like he wasn’t going to negotiate with Democrats, that he had given it all for his conference and he was not going to negotiate with the Democrats to become speaker.
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The ousted speaker briefly referred to the eight hard-right Republicans who joined 208 Democrats to remove him from his post, saying: “This country is too great for small visions of those eight.”
“I’m not quite sure those individuals are looking to be productive,” he said, and also: “They don’t get to say they’re conservative because they’re angry and chaotic.”
But he saved his harshest criticism for the Democrats, who he blamed for the day’s events. “I think today was a political decision by the Democrats. And I think the things they have done in the past hurt the institution,” he said.
Kevin McCarthy speaks to press after ouster: 'I wouldn't change a thing'
“I leave the speakership with a sense of pride and accomplishment. And yes, optimism,” McCarthy said, in a presser following his ousting as speaker.
He confirmed that he wouldn’t be running for speaker again. “I believe I can continue to fight maybe in a different manner,” he said.
There will be a closed-door forum next Tuesday to discuss candidates for speaker, and House Republicans will meet next Wednesday to vote, Reuters has reported, citing information from representatives.
Kevin McCarthy tells colleagues he will not run for House Speaker again
Kevin McCarthy has told House Republicans that he will not run for Speaker again, after the House voted to oust him from the post hours earlier.
Reuters is citing Republican congressman Kevin Hern, who said:
[McCarthy] just felt like he wasn’t going to negotiate with Democrats, that he had given it all for his conference and he was not going to negotiate with the Democrats to become speaker.
Kevin McCarthy, who just two hours ago was removed from his role as House speaker, is currently addressing House Republicans in a closed-door meeting.
Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman is covering McCarthy’s remarks:
MCCARTHY IN CLOSED GOP MEETING
We got a lot of big challenges
I dont want this to be an angry meeting. I firmly trust in God
You need 218 votes to be speaker -- and for the rules and amendments.
U held my mouth until you said something that wasnt true. And i did it for the…
And i did it for the good of the conference. The Dems came to me to make a deal. I wasnt goign to make a deal.
When eight people work with the Democrats, it's not for the best of the conference.
I got to be the 55th speaker -- my goal has been to save the country. I love a lot…
Those who stuck with me ill never forget it. I want you to all go home and see your family.
He quoted Lou Gehrig -- he said he is the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I'm optimistic because i dont know what else to be
Im not going to sell my soul to Democrats. Ill still work to get you elected -- maybe not all of you because i'm a free agent.
When we come out of the next vote, let's elect that person on the first round. if i have to be the sacrifice, so be it.
We're the only conservative…
Kevin McCarthy will not run for speaker again – reports
Kevin McCarthy will announce that he is not running for speaker of the House again during a closed-door GOP meeting this evening, according to several reports.
Politico’s Olivia Beavers writes:
MCCARTHY NOT RUNNING AGAIN, 4 sources tell me
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) October 3, 2023House Republicans are about to hold a closed-door meeting to discuss next steps after eight rightwing members joined with Democrats to oust Kevin McCarthy from the post of speaker of the House.
Punchbowl News’ John Bresnahan reports:
Kevin McCarthy was pictured walking back to his office after the House of Representatives voted to remove him from his leadership position at the US Capitol in Washington DC.
Patrick McHenry, who is now acting House speaker, has been given a new security detail along with his new temporary role.
Biden 'hopes House will quickly elect new speaker', says White House
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has released a statement to say that Joe Biden hopes the House will quickly elect a speaker “because the urgent challenges facing our nation will not wait”.
The statement goes on:
The American people deserve leadership that puts the issues affecting their lives front and center, as President Biden did today with more historic action to lower prescription drug prices.
Once the House has met their responsibility to elect a Speaker, he looks forward to working together with them and with the Senate to address the American peoples’ priorities.
Who is Matt Gaetz? The congressman who led the ouster of Kevin McCarthy
All it took was a single-page resolution for the congressman Matt Gaetz, a hard-right Republican from Florida, to set in motion a move unprecedented in congressional history: the ousting of a House speaker.
On Tuesday, a handful of conservative rebels joined Gaetz in voting to depose Kevin McCarthy, the Republican speaker. By a vote of 216-210, the effort succeeded, plunging the Republican-controlled House once again into chaos and cementing Gaetz’s position as one of Capitol Hill’s chief antagonists.
It has also brought renewed media attention to a controversial politician who thrives on it.
“Florida Man. Built for Battle,” reads Gaetz’s bio on X, formerly Twitter.
Since his arrival in Washington, the pompadoured lawmaker has built a political brand as a far-right provocateur, courting controversy seemingly as a matter of course.
Read the Guardian’s full profile of Gaetz here.
