A day after declaring his candidacy for House speaker, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday he’d listen to every voice to usher in a “generational change” on Capitol Hill.
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Scalise released a letter to fellow lawmakers Tuesday appealing for their support and declaring: “It’s time to unite behind a strategy that lets us make the case for our conservative governing vision, and empowers you to drive the public policy narrative in your own district”. “I am concerned that even those Republican leaders previously inclined to work for compromise have already lost the courage to stand up to the far-right when it matters most”.
“We can’t ignore the differences that exist, but we can and must heal the divisions in our conference with work, time, and trust”, McCarthy wrote in the email to House Republicans.
He added that he’s also “sensitive to what is happening outside of the Beltway”. “That they feel this is their government, that they’re in charge and we serve them”, McCarthy told reporters at a news conference.
“They (conservative Republicans) wanted him gone 20 years ago”.
McCarthy also says the House’s Benghazi investigation committee can take credit for Hillary Clinton’s dropping poll numbers – seemingly contradicting GOP claims that the committee is aimed simply at uncovering the truth. McCarthy is the clear front-runner for the job and faces little opposition for now.
“I won’t be as tan”, McCarthy cracked right back, before hailing Boehner for his long service in the House and his role in regaining GOP majorities in 1994 and 2010. In the same Fox interview where he made his comment about Benghazi, McCarthy gave Boehner a grade of B-minus on his speakership. And he bucked the most conservative members of his caucus in the process. I look forward to working with Speaker Boehner over the next few weeks.
Other politicos have suggested Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) for the Speaker position.
McCarthy could be in a unique position to actually fix many of these problems, or he could end up in the same situation as Boehner down the road. Rep. Peter Roskam R-Ill., is setting the stage for a possible run, though nothing is official. He hasn’t announced he’s running for any leadership job yet, but many believe Roskam is positioning for a seat at the leadership table, possibly as majority leader.
“When it comes to tyrants, dictators and terrorists, strength and the threat of force is the only language they understand”, McCarthy said. That vote is done by secret ballot behind closed doors.
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House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif. smiles after finishing a speech about foreign policy, Monday, September 28, 2015, during the John Hay Initiative, at a hotel in Washington.
