Inside the most bizarre Congress in recent memory
In the early days of the 118th Congress, amid 15 grueling rounds of voting — the longest battle between speakers since before the Civil War — Kevin McCarthy began privately expressing doubts to his staff that he would succeed.
That’s when he received a phone call from his old friend, legendary sports broadcaster Jim Gray. “You do Al Davis: ‘You just win, baby,’” Gray told him.
McCarthy said the pep talk reinvigorated him, and in the early morning of Jan. 7, 2023, the California Republican Finally prevailed.
Counting and then challenging his critics has been a constant theme throughout McCarthy’s life. As a young man in Bakersfield, he was rejected from a summer internship in the local congressman’s office. He later got a job in that office and then won the seat himself in 2007. Eight years later, he abruptly dropped out of the speaker’s race amid a different rebellion on the right, and critics declared his political career dead. It would take another eight years to obtain one of the most important awards in American politics.
“Going 15 shots? I’ll go 15 shots. Perseverance is important,” McCarthy said in an interview.
By May, McCarthy had struck a massive deal with President Joe Biden to extend the debt ceiling for two years and set a modest cap on spending.
His word will be short-lived. McCarthy became the first speaker ever to be removed midway through his term by a motion to vacate, which his arch-enemy, then-Rep., forced out. Matt Gaetz, Republican from Florida. His presidency, which lasted 269 days, was the third shortest in history.
His ongoing feud with Gaetz has been one of the most vicious on Capitol Hill in recent memory. “He’s a real sociopath,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy backed away from 269 days, saying he served in nearly every major leadership position — deputy chief whip, majority whip, majority leader, minority leader and speaker — over 14 years.
“I look forward to being a leader all the time,” he said.
McCarthy, who has been floated as a potential White House chief of staff or Cabinet member during Trump’s second term, said he told the president-elect early on: “I don’t want anything.”
He now gives speeches in places like Tokyo and Abu Dhabi and advises wealthy business leaders. But as he looked at the Capitol from a distance, McCarthy said he still felt “goosebumps” whenever he set foot in the building.
“Regrets? No. … Your missteps, good and bad, make you who you are, and those are the things I learned from them.” “I enjoyed every minute of it, every challenge.”
“I’ll do it all again tomorrow.”