Kevin McCarthy said goodbye to Congress on Thursday, delivering a farewell speech on the House floor that, fittingly, involved one final humiliation for the oft-humiliated ex-Speaker. That humiliation specifically came by way of almost no one showing up to hear his swan song, and being forced to deliver it to what The Hill described as “a largely empty House chamber, with just a handful of Republicans sitting on the floor to listen to his remarks.”
If McCarthy’s colleagues had shown up, they would have heard him deliver the (presumably unintentional) laugh line that he “loved every single day” in Congress, which almost certainly cannot be true based on the last year alone, a year in which McCarthy:
- Lost the vote for House Speaker an astonishing 14 times
- Got booted from the position just nine months later, by the very people he sold his last remaining shreds of dignity to to get the job in the first place
- Allegedly elbowed a member of his own party for voting to oust him*
Elsewhere in his remarks, McCarthy claimed “there’s so much we have been able to accomplish in a short amount of time,” which at least one Republican could tell you is also not true.
After being ousted in an historic vote in October, McCarthy had pledged to stay on to serve the American people, before reversing course a few months later and announcing he would quit at the end of the year.
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Prior to announcing his plans to leave Washington, McCarthy took the time to share his thoughts on Representative Matt Gaetz, who engineered the California lawmaker’s dethronement, telling Politico that Gaetz “belongs in jail,” which was presumably a reference to the sexual misconduct allegations against the Florida congressman. (In 2021, the Justice Department opened an investigation into Gaetz for allegedly having sex with an underage girl and paying her to travel with him across state lines. While the DOJ ended its investigation into Gaetz—who has denied any wrongdoing—without charging him, the House Ethics Committee revived its own investigation in July 2023, and it is reportedly gaining steam.) Gaetz did not appear to have shown up to McCarthy’s speech on Thursday, but perhaps he sent a nice note.
*McCarthy swears this didn’t happen, and that “If I…punched him, he’d be on the ground.”
Sounds like Republicans have this all locked up
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
On the other hand…
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Elsewhere!
Rudy Giuliani Is a Hop, Skip, and a Jump Away From Telling His Cellmate “They Used to Call Me America’s Mayor”
Vanity Fair • Read More
Unconventional Trial Judge Could Remove Trump From His NY Empire
The New York Times • Read More
House passes defense policy bill, a rebuke of GOP’s far-right fringe
The Washington Post • Read More
McCarthy: I’d serve in Trump’s Cabinet
Politico • Read More
The Democratic Strategist Who’s Bullish About Biden
Vanity Fair • Read More
Florida GOP Chair Reportedly Demanding Massive Payout to Step Down
The Daily Beast • Read More
In-N-Out opens to long waits in Idaho: ‘It’s the Hunger Games out here’
The Washington Post • Read More
Loose bull at Newark Penn Station causes train delays in NJ, NY
The Hill • Read More
Vanity Fair’s Most Read Stories of 2023
The Real Housewives Reckoning Rocking Bravo
The Untold Story of Lost’s Poisonous Culture
Kyle Deschanel, the Rothschild Who Wasn’t
The JFK Assassination Revelation That Could Upend the “Lone Gunman” Theory
Gisele Bündchen Talks About It All
The Serial Killer and the Texas Mom Who Stopped Him
Plus: Fill Out Your 2023 Emmys Ballot
