Kevin McCarthy Skips Nancy Pelosi's Leadership Retirement Speech

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Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 09:01 pm

Kevin McCarthy claimed that he had meetings so he couldn’t attend Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership retirement speech.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who is eyeing the speaker’s job after his party captured the majority, was nowhere to be seen. Asked why he skipped her speech, McCarthy said: “I had meetings. But normally the others would do it during votes. I wish she could have done that — could have been there.”

Minority Whip Steve Scalise was the only member of the GOP’s upper echelons to be sitting in the chamber. The Louisiana Republican, who is a survivor of political violence, stood up to applaud when Pelosi mentioned her husband Paul Pelosi’s recovery from a brutal assault during a recent home invasion.

Nancy Pelosi’s retirement from House leadership is historic, not only because she is the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House, but more so because she is one of the greatest Speakers ever to hold the gavel.

Pelosi’s tour de force occurred over the last two years as got President Biden’s agenda through the House with the slimmest of majorities to work with. Speaker Pelosi always held Democrats together and delivered for the American people.

Every member of the current Congress who was physically able to attend should have been there. Kevin McCarthy has no excuse. Meetings can be moved, and his lack of attendance is a sign of disrespect for one of the great American political careers.

McCarthy is set to be a failed Speaker, and his failure will be even more pronounced in the eyes of the American people in contrast to the career of Nancy Pelosi.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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