Disgraced ex-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is planning to resign from his seat in Congress before the end of his term in 2024, according to reports from Politico and CNN.
Mediaite notes
“The ex-Speaker has said he does not intend to make another attempt to wield the gavel — the memory of the excruciating fifteen rounds of votes it took him to win it in January is undoubtedly still a raw wound — but the news he might forgo running for re-election on the November 2024 ballot and even resign before the end of his term was new Friday.”
Olivia Beavers of Politico notes that McCarthy “has made clear he plans to stay at least through the speakership election that begins next week before ending his House career…in order to help the party steady itself after a seismic shakeup.”
Additionally, the former speaker is said to have told his GOP colleagues, “I’m going to spend time with my family.”
Despite McCarthy’s plans, some of his House Republican allies insist they will enter his name into nomination when a vote for the next speaker is held.
One of those, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), says McCarthy is needed now more than ever:
“Each day that goes by without a Speaker, the House is paralyzed to act on the dangers bearing down on us. Each day brings us closer to a power-sharing arrangement that will move the House sharply to the left and eliminate the only political counterweight in our elected government to the woke left.”
“The only workable outcome is to restore Kevin McCarthy as Speaker under party rules that respect and enforce the right of the majority party to elect him,” McClintock added. “This depends entirely on several of the dissidents to disenthrall themselves from their decision and to repair the damage before it is too late. I appeal to them to act while there is still time.”
The two most frequently mentioned names to replace McCarthy are Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Steve Scalise (R-LA). Jordan has announced he will seek the post while Scalise is said to be considering whether or not to toss his hat into the ring.
