House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Thursday played down the possibility that he’ll be the next speaker of the House, and said the bigger priority for him and all Republicans is making sure the GOP holds onto the majority after this year.
“What means most to me is that in the next Congress there is an opportunity for a Republican to be speaker, and not Nancy Pelosi,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said on Fox News when asked about the possibility that he replaces Speaker Paul Ryan.
“We have the highest number of retirements we’ve ever had, we have the history against us when it comes to the party in power that wins the White House and losing seats here, but we’ve accomplished a lot,” he said.
McCarthy indicated that he’ll work in the coming months to keep advancing the GOP agenda in the hopes of making the case for a continued GOP majority.
“We’ve got a lot more to do in the Trump agenda,” he said. “So I’m doubling down and focusing, putting this conference together as one team, and making sure we keep this majority and moving America in the right direction.”
Ryan announced he will not run for his House seat this year in order to spend time with his teenage kids.
“I have respect for the man that cares about his family all the way,” McCarthy said of Ryan’s decision.
McCarthy and other GOP leaders met with Trump in the White House Wednesday night, and said the president is focused on his agenda, despite the ongoing probe into his alleged ties to Russia that Trump has called a “witch hunt.”
“This man focuses just on the work,” McCarthy said. “You wouldn’t know this man has anything else going on in his life than getting his agenda through, and the wall.”
