Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted from the House speakership on Oct. 3. Three days after that disgrace, McCarthy told reporters “yes” when asked whether he’d run for re-election. “I’m not resigning, I’ve got a lot more work to do,” McCarthy reportedly said at the Capitol.
Now, McCarthy is approaching the Dec. 8 deadline to file for re-election, but he has yet to announce a decision.
The former House speaker defended his indecisiveness on Wednesday during an interview with DailyMail.com.
“That’s coming up,” McCarthy said, referring to the deadline. “I’ve got to make a decision. I have my papers and I’m looking at it.”
Nine days before the deadline, McCarthy is remaining noncommittal about a re-election campaign. He’s still considering “what’s the best way to serve.”
“The great thing about the American public is you don’t have to have a title to be able to do it [serve]. Everybody should be engaged and be able to help this country move further and I’m going to look at the best place to do that.”
McCarthy said something similar in a Nov. 12 interview with CNN.
“I got the holidays. I will talk to my family about the ideas of what is going forward, and then I will make a decision,” McCarthy said on CNN at the time.
“I always believe, and you hear me all of the time. You never give up in the process, right? Well, there’s so many ways you can do that to make sure you’re getting the job done. And I’m going to look at all options.”
CNN’s Manu Ranju asked McCarthy whether he was leaning toward re-election or toward leaving Congress. McCarthy said, “I don’t know.”
Speaking to Daily Mail on Wednesday, McCarthy also avoided questions about whether to finish his current term. “You’re putting hypotheticals out there,” McCarthy said. “I first have to decide what I’m going to do before I make a decision [on that].”
However, McCarthy remained optimistic about House Republicans’ prospects during the 2024 election. He attributed his optimism to North Carolina’s redistricting and to the whopping number of retiring Democrats.
‘The answer is easily yes, we can grow the majority,” McCarthy said. “Next cycle is even better for the House Republicans than the last two cycles.”
McCarthy also predicted a period of stability in the House, following the chamber’s weekslong struggle to elect a new speaker.
“They can’t do it again. You watched the chaos of what happened. I don’t think the Republican Party will put up with it,” he said.
The Horn editorial team