Incoming House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Thursday denied reporting that he has been in talks for the job of White House chief of staff.
“I have not interviewed for that [chief of staff] job and I have a job I was just elected to,” the California Republican told CBS Thursday morning. “Our number one goal here is to make sure we move America forward. I will work with anyone who wants to work to make America better.”
“I have not interviewed for that [Chief of Staff] job and I have a job I was just elected to… Our #1 goal here is to make sure we move America forward. I will work with anyone who wants to work to make America better.” — @GOPLeader pic.twitter.com/VPjp35vvQV
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) November 15, 2018
McCarthy’s House GOP colleagues Wednesday selected him as minority leader for the next Congress, after Republicans lost control of the chamber in the 2018 midterm elections. A House confidante of President Trump, McCarthy has frequently been mentioned as a potential White House chief of staff.
McCarthy — currently House majority leader under outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. — also said that he would be able to work on the other side of the aisle with whoever House Democrats select as leaders. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is seeking a return engagement as House speaker but is encountering resistance from some quarters of the Democratic Caucus.
McCarthy emphasized it’s time to get to work and govern, and warned against a swath of Trump administration probes promised by incoming House Democratic committee chairs.
“When elections are over, we should govern,” McCarthy said. “If the agenda is just going to be investigations, I think America is too great for such a small vision.”
[Read more: McCarthy vows GOP will retake the House: ‘We’ll be back’]
