Politics

Kevin McCarthy Announces Bid For Minority Leader

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House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced his bid for House minority leader as Republicans lost control of the House in the Nov. 6 midterm elections.

“(W)e need to lay the groundwork to regain the majority so that we can continue working alongside President Trump to fulfill our promise to fundamentally change Washington. I helped build a majority from a deeper hole than this and I have what it takes to do it again,” McCarthy wrote in a letter to his Republican colleagues Wednesday, The Washington Examiner reported. “That is why I have decided to run for Republican Leader and humbly ask for your support.”

If Republicans had maintained control of the House, McCarthy hoped to become the next speaker, but some Republicans have said they wanted to see Majority Whip Steve Scalise or GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio in the position.

Jordan will also likely announce his bid for minority leader, as he campaigned for speaker of the House before the Nov. 6 elections.

As Democrats won the House, the party will now have to select a speaker. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi previously said she thinks she’ll be the next House speaker, despite comments from Democratic Reps. Kathleen Rice of New York, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Filemon Vela of Texas and Tim Ryan of Ohio, who have all called for Pelosi to relinquish her leadership role.

McCarthy has previously said he believes the idea of Pelosi becoming speaker again “should scare all Americans.”

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