Kevin McCarthy bids adieu to Congress on last day: ‘Do what’s right’
Kevin McCarthy, former speaker and last of the Republican “Young Guns,” bid his adieu to Congress Thursday.
With a blend of defiance, gratitude and a smidge of self-adulation, McCarthy (R-Calif.), 58, urged his soon-to-be former colleagues to be bold and unafraid.
“If you come across that question of whether you should do what’s right out of fear of losing your job, do it anyways,” McCarthy said on the House floor.
Underpinning his parting advice is the fact that he brought up a stopgap resolution to avert a government shutdown in late September that was the catalyst for his ouster as speaker.
Barring some extension of the current session, Thursday is expected to be McCarthy’s last day in the lower chamber, capping off a tumultuous year for him.
Yet McCarthy, who made history with the third-shortest speakership in US history, was adamant he would do it all over again if he could.
“I knew the day we decided to make sure to choose to pay our troops when war was breaking out, instead of shutting down, was the right decision,” he reflected.
“I would do it all again.”
Before his speech, McCarthy snapped photos with lawmakers to cap off his likely last day in session.
Tributes from a medley of Republicans and even some Democratic lawmakers poured in.
“We had different perspectives, but I want to rise and thank Speaker McCarthy for that on which we could agree,” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said. “Good luck, Godspeed.”
“Privately what I got to see was the legislative equivalent of an elite power athlete, expertly working people, process, policy to get the best outcome in this chamber,” Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) said.
McHenry famously slammed the speaker’s gavel in a spit of fury upon taking the reins as speaker pro tempore when McCarthy was ejected as speaker.
A top McCarthy ally, McHenry recently announced he will not seek reelection in 2024.
“He was a great leader for House Republicans, for this institution, for America,” McHenry added.
A sense of remorse and reopened wounds of frustration among Republicans seemingly filled the chamber during his exit speech.
Most House Republicans had wanted McCarthy to stay on as speaker, but given the razor-thin GOP majority, they couldn’t save him from the mutiny that took place almost 10 weeks ago.
Firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), whom McCarthy alleges harbored personal animus toward, led eight Republicans to join with a solid bloc of Democrats to topple him in early October.
The rumor mill jumped into overdrive following McCarthy’s ouster that he intended to quit Congress, but he initially downplayed those suggestions.
Then, earlier this month, McCarthy announced that he would step down by the year’s end, dwindling the GOP’s already threadbare majority.
His rise to speaker had been turbulent. Back in 2015, he unsuccessfully attempted to replace former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), before dropping his bid.
He became the No.1 House Republican in 2019 after the Democrats took over and then claimed the speaker’s gavel after an unprecedented 15 votes on the House floor in January.
Starting from a low point, McCarthy presided over a growth in the Republicans’ majority in the House, something he crowed about in his farewell address.
“[In] that same time frame, the party I love lost in the Senate both cycles, lost the presidency, but we won. The secret? Quality candidates,” he said.
With McCarthy on the outs, the House GOP majority is expected to plunge to just a single-seat majority by early next year when Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), departs for a gig at Youngstown State University.
This will make Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) life much harder as he seeks to navigate a raucous caucus through a big spending fight in January into February and other flashpoints on the horizon.
McCarthy hasn’t specified what exactly he plans to do once he goes out the doors of Congress for the last time as a lawmaker.
Murmurs have circulated that he may do work with artificial intelligence and he has kept the door open to serving in a Cabinet position should former President Donald Trump win in 2024.
“I’m so thankful to be given the opportunity to serve. I will be departing. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop serving,” he teased during his farewell.
McCarthy joins an exodus from Congress, which appears on track to endure the most retirements from sitting members since 2011, underscoring simmering frustrations among lawmakers.
Back in 2011, he co-authored a book with former Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and former Republican Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) titled, “Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders” that talked about the future of the GOP.
The Californian was the last of them still in Congress.
He pondered out loud whether he left “this place better than I received it,” and recalled seeing the contrast in diversity between Democrats and Republicans in the chamber when he climbed the ladder of leadership.
“I watched the Democrats stand up — very diverse — they look like America. I watched us stand up, we lost the majority,” he said. “We looked like one of the most respected country clubs in America.”
The former speaker then alluded to the progress Republicans have made in recruiting candidates from a range of backgrounds.
McCarthy once more voiced gratitude for the opportunities he was given before concluding his speech.
“I thank this nation for creating a body that is represented by the people. I think we should rise to the occasion one more time. With that I yield back,” he said to applause.
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