Kevin McCarthy

For other people named Kevin McCarthy, see Kevin McCarthy (disambiguation).

Kevin McCarthy
Official portrait, 2023
55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office
January 7, 2023[a] – October 3, 2023
Preceded byNancy Pelosi
Succeeded byMike Johnson[b]
House Minority Leader
In office
January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023
WhipSteve Scalise
Preceded byNancy Pelosi
Succeeded byHakeem Jeffries
Leader of the House Republican Conference
In office
January 3, 2019 – October 3, 2023
DeputySteve Scalise
Preceded byPaul Ryan
Succeeded byMike Johnson
House Majority Leader
In office
August 1, 2014 – January 3, 2019
SpeakerJohn Boehner
Paul Ryan
Preceded byEric Cantor
Succeeded bySteny Hoyer
House Majority Whip
In office
January 3, 2011 – August 1, 2014
SpeakerJohn Boehner
Preceded byJim Clyburn
Succeeded bySteve Scalise
House Republican Chief Deputy Whip
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
LeaderJohn Boehner
Preceded byEric Cantor
Succeeded byPeter Roskam
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California
In office
January 3, 2007 – December 31, 2023
Preceded byBill Thomas
Succeeded byVince Fong
Constituency22nd district (2007–2013)
23rd district (2013–2023)
20th district (2023)
Minority Leader of the California Assembly
In office
January 5, 2004 – April 17, 2006
Preceded byDave Cox
Succeeded byGeorge Plescia
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 32nd district
In office
December 2, 2002 – November 30, 2006
Preceded byRoy Ashburn
Succeeded byJean Fuller
Personal details
Born
Kevin Owen McCarthy

(1965-01-26) January 26, 1965 (age 59)
Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Judy Wages
​
(m. 1992)​
Children2
EducationCalifornia State University, Bakersfield (BS, MBA)
Signature
McCarthy's voice
McCarthy on the establishment of a Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party
Recorded January 10, 2023

Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January to October 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for California's 20th congressional district from 2007 until his resignation in 2023.

McCarthy graduated from California State University, Bakersfield. He served two terms as a member of the California State Assembly before being elected to the U.S. House in 2006. McCarthy served as the House Republican chief deputy whip from 2009 to 2011 and as House majority whip from 2011 to 2014.[1][2] After House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's reelection loss in the 2014 Republican primary, McCarthy was elected majority leader under speaker John Boehner. He retained that position during Paul Ryan's speakership. In 2019, after Ryan retired, McCarthy was elected House Minority Leader.[3]

As Minority Leader, McCarthy supported Donald Trump's debunked claims of voter fraud after Joe Biden won the 2020 U.S. presidential election and initially participated in efforts to overturn the results. After the U.S. Capitol was stormed during the 2021 electoral vote count, McCarthy reversed his previous comments on voter fraud in the election and blamed Trump for the riot.[4][5][6][7] By 2022, he had publicly reconciled with Trump.[8][9] McCarthy led the House Republicans through the 2022 elections, in which they gained a slimmer-than-expected majority.

McCarthy was the Republican nominee for speaker in January 2023, but did not win the speakership on the first attempt, only securing the office after days of successive votes and negotiations within his own party as well as a historic 15 different ballots.[10][11][12] As Speaker, McCarthy dealt with a standoff between the House Republican conference and Biden administration that led to the 2023 debt-ceiling crisis and what would have been a first-ever national default. To resolve the crisis, the parties negotiated the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which passed with bipartisan support in Congress before Biden signed it into law.[13]

In September 2023, McCarthy relied on Democrats to help pass a bipartisan continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown. As a result, Republican congressman Matt Gaetz filed a motion to vacate against McCarthy.[14] Following a largely unprecedented House floor debate between members of the majority party, McCarthy was voted out as speaker on October 3, 2023.[15] His tenure was the third-shortest for a Speaker of the House in United States history,[16][c] and he became the first speaker to ever be removed from the role during a legislative session.[17][18][19] McCarthy resigned as a member of the House at the end of that year.[20]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise vault into GOP leadership". Politico. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  2. ^ "GOP Rep. McCarthy elected House majority leader". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. June 19, 2014. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  3. ^ Pramuk, Jacob (November 14, 2018). "Rep. Kevin McCarthy elected GOP leader in the House for next Congress". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  4. ^ Vlamis, Kelsey (November 6, 2020). "Kevin McCarthy echoed Trump's false claim that he won the election, saying Republicans 'will not back down'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on July 17, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  5. ^ Lemon, Jason (March 18, 2021). "Kevin McCarthy Attempts to Rewrite History With Claim He Didn't Support Overturning Biden's Win". Newsweek. New York. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Schnell, Mychael (February 9, 2022). "McCarthy says Jan. 6 rioters did not engage in 'legitimate discourse'". The Hill. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  7. ^ Creitz, Charles (January 6, 2021). "McCarthy condemns 'un-American' breach of US Capitol by pro-Trump demonstrators". Fox News. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Haberman20210127 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference TampaBayTimes20210128 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Live updates: House elects McCarthy as speaker after days of defeats and concessions". The Washington Post. January 6, 2023. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  11. ^ "Kevin McCarthy Elected House Speaker—Ending Historic Deadlock". Forbes. January 7, 2023. Archived from the original on January 7, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  12. ^ Karni, Annie (January 6, 2023). "Live Updates: McCarthy Wins Speakership on 15th Vote". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  13. ^ Hunnicutt, Trevor (June 5, 2023). "Biden signs debt limit bill, avoiding U.S. Default". Reuters. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  14. ^ Hulse, Carl; Edmondson, Catie (September 30, 2023). "Senate Voting to Keep Government Running Through Mid-November". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  15. ^ Edmondson, Catie (October 3, 2023). "Speaker Vote: House Votes to Oust McCarthy as Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  16. ^ Hickey, Christopher (October 4, 2023). "McCarthy has lost the gavel. It was the third shortest speakership in history. | CNN Politics". CNN. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  17. ^ Mascaro, Lisa; Amiri, Farnoush (October 3, 2023). "Speaker McCarthy ousted in historic House vote, as scramble begins for a Republican leader". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  18. ^ Foran, Clare; Talbot, Haley; Rimmer, Morgan; Wilson, Kristin (October 25, 2023). "Trump ally Mike Johnson elected House speaker three weeks after McCarthy ouster". CNN. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  19. ^ "New House Speaker Kicks Things Off With Crass Remark About His Wife". Yahoo News. October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  20. ^ Axelrod, Tal; Parkinson, John (December 6, 2023). "Kevin McCarthy resigning from Congress after being ousted as House speaker". CBS News. Retrieved December 15, 2023.