House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Tuesday that he is “humbled” that House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would endorse him as his successor if Republicans maintain control of the House in November.
McCarthy shot down any chatter that the relationship between the two has frayed based on Ryan’s decision to wait until the end of his term to leave office. The comments were McCarthy’s first on the potential speaker race since Ryan announced his decision.
“I don’t know where they got that article,” McCarthy told CNBC, referring to their days as the “Young Guns” along with former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. “We’ve been a partner all the way through this.
“I’m humbled that Paul would say that, but … we have to make sure a Republican could become speaker in the next Congress,” McCarthy said. “So we have a lot of work to do. History goes against us.”
McCarthy did not speak to whether he wanted to succeed Ryan atop the GOP conference.
McCarthy’s appearance alongside Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, was as part of tax day, which the California Republican floated moving to November so it is closer to the minds of voters.
If McCarthy runs for the post, this would be his second bid for the speakership after his failed 2015 effort that failed, which led to Ryan taking the gavel.
