House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was notably absent from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) speech announcing that she will step down from leadership in the next Congress, with the California Republican telling reporters that he “had meetings” at that time.
Pelosi and McCarthy, who is aiming to become the next speaker of the House, have a frosty relationship, which grew more contentious after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
FOUR DEMOCRATS WHO COULD REPLACE NANCY PELOSI
“I had meetings, but normally, the others would do it during votes — I wish she could have done that, I could have been there,” he told reporters shortly after the speech wrapped, adding that he didn’t watch any of it.
“Normally, when the speakers do that, like Paul Ryan and John Boehner did it during the vote, I would have liked that,” he added.
“It’s not just her, it’s Steny too — I mean, think about it. They’ve both had quite a career of how many decades they’ve been here, working through — so, it’s a whole new generation for the Democrats,” McCarthy said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Pelosi said Thursday that she would not seek another term in leadership, but she plans to remain in Congress. Just a handful of Republicans, largely consisting of members of the California delegation, were in attendance.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) was the sole member of the GOP’s leadership to attend the announcement.
