House Democrat Unloads On McCarthy’s ‘Weak, Ineffective, Incompetent Leadership’ During Hearing

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) piled on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for his “weak, ineffective, incompetent leadership” that has failed to help avert another impending government shutdown.

“I plead with my colleagues who choose a different path here. This is nuts! This is an awful, awful, awful process. And it’s being used to advance awful, awful, awful bills,” McGovern said during a House Rules Committee meeting Friday. He continued:

Can we please just be honest? These bills are partisan talking points and we need to get serious, like yesterday. I said it earlier and I’ll say it again: people are fed up with Keven McCarthy’s weak, ineffective, incompetent leadership. It’s like every room the Speaker goes into is an escape room. He just does whatever he needs to do to get out, even if it means caving to MAGA Republicans every single time.

He has one meeting, and the Ukraine money is in; he has another meeting and the Ukraine money is out. Maybe I should ask for a meeting with him. All he does is say yes, maybe I’ll get something I want.

Earlier in his remarks, McGovern sharply criticized McCarthy for slashing $300 in aid for Ukraine, calling it “absolutely sick and wrong.”

“President [Volodomyr] Zelensky was here yesterday, once again explaining how this money isn’t a handout. It’s in America’s interest, the entire world’s interest, that that freedom and democracy prevail. And now we learn that Speaker McCarthy refused President Zelensky’s request for a joint meeting of Congress. Given how far some members on the other side of the aisle go to praise Putin and apologize for Russia, I can’t say that I’m surprised.”

McCarthy sent House Republicans home on Thursday after hardliners foiled two separate votes on his spending plans.

According to CNN, “The Republican leader slammed his far-right flank for wanting to ‘burn the place down,’ after conservatives dramatically bucked McCarthy and GOP leadership on a procedural vote over a Pentagon funding bill, throwing the House into total paralysis. And now, members are not set to return to session until Tuesday as the possibility of a shutdown at the end of next week appears ever more likely.”

Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.