Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will not run for speaker again after being ousted from the position on Tuesday.
McCarthy will not seek to regain the speakership, two sources tell the Washington Examiner. The California Republican is set to inform a closed-door meeting of House GOP lawmakers of his decision.
MCCARTHY OUSTED IN HISTORIC VOTE TO STRIP HIM OF SPEAKERSHIP
Speaking after the closed-door meeting, McCarthy reflected on his tenure as House speaker by saying he had no regrets.
“So I may have lost the vote today, but I walk out of the chamber, I feel fortunate to serve the American people. I leave the speakership with the sense of pride, accomplishment, and, yes, optimism. From the day I entered politics, my mission has always been to make tomorrow better than today. I fought for what I believe in, and I believe in this country of America,” McCarthy said.
He expressed his displeasure with the rule allowing him to be vacated from the speakership but said that the Republican conference will “pick somebody else.”
“I will not run for speaker again. I’ll have the conference pick somebody else. I hope you realize that every day, I did the job regardless of whether you underestimated me or not. I wanted to do it with a smile,” McCarthy said.
When asked if he will remain in Congress, McCarthy was not definitive and said he will “look at that.”
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who is serving as speaker pro tempore, told the House Republican Conference he wants to have a candidate forum next Tuesday and an election for speaker on Wednesday, per a source.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said he has not made any formal announcements about whether he will run for speaker but says that there will be “a lot of conversations” among GOP House members.
“Obviously a lot of things happened today that were not expected. There’s gonna be a lot of conversations that members will be having,” Scalise said.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) has confidence in Scalise, saying he “would make a great speaker.”
Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) said the candidate forum will allow for Republicans to have a “real contest” for the role, saying he does not know how long it will take to pick a new speaker.
“We’re going to have a real contest to see who the best person is. We will absolutely choose a speaker with 218. Now, does it take a couple of days? I don’t know. A couple hours? I don’t know. But we’re gonna have a speaker that’s chosen by the body,” Good said.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) would not rule out the new speaker having to negotiate an agreement to get to 218 votes, similar to what McCarthy had to do to win the position in January.
“I guess that’ll be negotiated [by] whoever wants to run as part of trying to get the votes. We’ll see how that goes,” Perry said.
The motion to vacate McCarthy from the speakership, spearheaded by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), saw eight Republicans join Democrats to vote to remove the sitting House speaker for the first time in history. The 216-210 vote ended McCarthy’s speakership less than nine months after it began, following 15 rounds of voting in January.
Gaetz brought the motion to vacate following weeks of threats, finally doing so after he accused McCarthy of making a “back deal” with Democrats on Ukraine funding to get a continuing resolution passed over the weekend.
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When discussing the ouster being led by Gaetz, McCarthy said, “You know Matt Gaetz. You know this was personal.” He also said the eight Republicans who voted to vacate the speakership were no conservatives.
“They are not conservatives, and they do not have the right to have that title,” McCarthy said.
