.JonathanBlitzer profiles Kevin McCarthy, who may become the next Speaker of the House.
When McCarthy served in the California assembly, it was common knowledge among state pols that he had national aspirations. “I can’t recall a time when he came into the office to talk about a substantive political issue,” Thomas told me. “The political goal as he moved up the district structure” was “to build up” relationships. “He’s the guy in the college fraternity that everybody liked and winds up selling life insurance, convincing people they need it.
For the 2010 election cycle, McCarthy worked with Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor to recruit candidates and to lead the campaign effort. Each was part of the Republican establishment, yet they sold themselves as outsiders with big ideas.
McCarthy played both sides. He was protective of the new members, but he had a job to do. In March, 2011, according to reporting by Draper, McCarthy tried to rally the members to compromise by pitching a provisional spending deal as a way for Republicans to keep the pressure on Obama. “When you’re coming around a corner and you see your friend in a fight, what do you do?” he said. “First, you jump in and you help beat up the other guy.
On January 6, 2021, when Capitol Police evacuated the House chamber, McCarthy went to his office, accompanied by Bruce Westerman, a Republican congressman from Arkansas. Once the rioters breached the building, security officers took McCarthy to a military base, where he joined Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer. Westerman, who stayed behind, grabbed a Civil War sword from a display in McCarthy’s office and hid in the Minority Leader’s private bathroom.
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