The Last Day of Congress: Kevin McCarthy and the New-York House Appropriations Work for President Paulini in 2024
Kevin McCarthy said he’s retiring from the House of Representatives at the end of the year.
“No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing,” McCarthy wrote. It’s not out of place in Washington these days but it’s still celebrated across the country. It is in this spirit that I have decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways. I am aware that my work is just beginning.
McCarthy was removed as speaker earlier this year in a rare vote of the House on a Motion to Vacate the Chair. His ouster led to a three-week debacle where Washington was paralyzed as the House was unable to function as the Republican conference struggled to reach consensus on a new leader.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday that the state will hold a special election to fill Santos’ seat on February 13, 2024. A special election will be held to replace McCarthy in California, which could take weeks.
The vacancies put huge pressure on House leaders who already struggled to pass partisan legislation, with key appropriations bills either failing or being pulled from consideration because of a lack of GOP support.
The fractious nature of the conference forced Johnson, after days of searching for an alternative, to rely on Democratic votes to keep the government funded through the new year — frustrating party hardliners and mirroring the decision that cost McCarthy his speakership.
Johnson could once more rely on Democrats to advance must-pass legislation, unless Republicans can overcome their so-far intractable differences.
The first deadline for Congress to approve new spending authority is in six weeks when the first funding bills run out on January 19. The remaining bills go out on Feb. 2.
The Awakening of the Clock: What Happened to Kevin McCarthy after his First Year in the House of Representatives?
Mr. McCarthy, who has been struggling to get used to his rank-and-file lifestyle as a lawmaker, will be happier by the early departure. Former members are banned for one year after leaving Congress from lobbying their former colleagues. Mr. McCarthy could start the clock on his delayed lucrative work in the private sector a year earlier than he could if he served out his term, by stepping down this month.
“Kevin McCarthy represents everything that is wrong with congressional Republicans and bears much of the responsibility for the rise of the cult of MAGA and Trump,” Kyle Herrig, the executive director of the Congressional Integrity Project, an advocacy group, said in a statement.