- McCarthy says he did the right thing by keeping the government funded
- Reaching a deal with Democrats ultimately led to his resignation as Speaker of the House of Representatives
- Speaker Mike Johnson succeeded McCarthy after a contentious trial
Despite being ousted as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Kevin McCarthy said he did what he thought was right by striking a deal with Democrats to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open and funded to hold.
McCarthy said he knew he was putting his job at risk, but he wanted to do the right thing — and gave his successor, Chairman Mike Johnson, advice to do the same.
'This is a very tough job. If I was the best to give advice, I'd still be in it,” McCarthy told CBS News host Robert Costa in an interview that aired Sunday morning on Face the Nation.
“And to be fair to Speaker Johnson, he didn't have the time to plan in the years before. He wasn't the majority leader, he wasn't the minority leader. He is doing well. It's like anything: 10,000 hours, you improve at your job,” the California Republican said, listing his past credentials.
Kevin McCarthy said his best advice to his successor, Speaker Mike Johnson, is to “don't govern with the idea that you're afraid someone will make a motion to evict.”
After avoiding a shutdown in September, Florida Representative Matt Gaetz filed a motion to remove McCarthy from his position in the House of Representatives and strip him of his gavel. All Democrats and seven other Republicans joined Gaetz in voting out McCarthy.
This month, McCarthy announced that he will not run for re-election — and in fact, he will actually leave Congress at the end of December, before his term expires.
Just weeks before retiring from the House of Representatives, McCarthy sat down with Costa for an interview about his time as Speaker and offered some advice to his successor.
“I think the best advice I can give him as Speaker of the House of Representatives – don't govern based on the idea that you're afraid someone will make a motion to leave Parliament,” he said.
“When I made the decision to pay our troops — not to shut down — I knew they would make a move to leave me,” McCarthy recalled after striking a deal to avoid a government shutdown . “I didn't even know the Democrats would go along with that.”
Speaker Mike Johnson succeeded McCarthy after a controversial process that led to multiple failed nominations by lawmakers like Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Ken Buck
“But what I did know is that I had been in that room before. “I had seen what failed,” he said.
It took several tries before Republicans finally voted through a colleague to take the gavel, with Rep. Johnson of Louisiana taking the role in October after others failed — including Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Colorado Rep. Ken Buck and even Leader of the majority of the House of Representatives. Steve Scalise, who eventually withdrew his nomination.
Rep. Patrick McHenry was the interim speaker between McCarthy's ouster and Johnson's rise. It was thought he could take the post with a more permanent role after the Republican Party struggled to find a new leader for the party.
But Rep.'s ultraconservative allies Jordan rejected these prospects.