‘We Learned How to Govern’: McCarthy Tries to Put Positive Spin on Speaker Fiasco When Questioned On How He Can Still Lead

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) put a positive spin on his historic battle for House speaker, which harks back to records set before the Civil War for party division.

After failing on the 13th vote to secure a majority, McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol of the next round, “We’ll have the votes to finish this once and for all.”

“It just reminds me of what my father always told me. It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. And now we have to finish for the American public,” he added.

“What was the turnaround?” a reporter asked, adding, “What was the breaking point in these negotiations?”

“I think getting together and just finding the ability for how we all are going to work together, it’s it’s new for us, one being in the majority, but being in a tight majority. I think at the end of the day, we’re going to be more effective, more efficient, and definitely the government’s going to be more accountable,” McCarthy replied.

“You do you expect to govern this way when it’s been taking this long?” asked a reporter, whose question was partly inaudible.

“See, this is the great part because it took this long. Now we learned how to govern. So now we’ll be able to get the job done. Thank you all very much. See you later,” McCarthy concluded.

Many pundits and observers see the lengthy battle for speaker to have exactly the opposite implications for McCarthy’s ability to govern the House GOP if he is indeed elected speaker.

Mike Davis, a longtime GOP Capitol Hill staffer and former clerk for Justice Gorsuch, made that point in stark terms on Twitter, writing:

Kevin McCarthy has given away his shirt, pants, socks, and underwear.

He has gutted the Speaker’s powers.

All to become Speaker.

Even if he can twist enough arms, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

Lauren Boebert will have Kevin McCarthy’s balls in her purse for the next 2 years.