It doesn’t seem like Kevin McCarthy has gotten over his historic ouster from the House speakership, prompted by members of his own party.
Maybe breathing exercises would help? Or a stress ball? Because the California congressman's vengeful press tour slamming fellow Republicans who played a role in his removal continued this week with a fiery CNN interview, released in part on Thursday.
Predictably, most of McCarthy’s ire was trained on Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who spearheaded the effort to oust him, and Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who supported it.
In the wretched reality show that is the House Republican caucus, McCarthy has treated the press like his personal confessional, frequently venting to reporters about his gripes with GOP infighting. And he didn’t bite his tongue in his interview with CNN's Manu Raju.
The GOP would benefit “tremendously” if Gaetz were no longer a member of the House, McCarthy said, adding that Gaetz “doesn’t have a conservative bent in his philosophy." He accused Mace and Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., of being obsessed with garnering media attention. (The irony of McCarthy, in a TV interview, bashing some of his fellow party members' thirstiness for press is not lost on me.)
And when was asked to put his pundit hat on and predict Mace’s electoral chances next year, McCarthy willfully obliged. He said Mace likely hasn’t “earned the right” to be re-elected in her district due to her “philosophy” and her “flip-flopping” (which I’ve written about previously).
For what it’s worth, Mace, Gaetz and Burchett seem to have brushed off his attacks. Mace tweeted Thursday that she’s "living rent free” in McCarthy’s head.
Gaetz, in typical troll fashion, released a minidocumentary on Friday chronicling McCarthy’s rise and fall as speaker.
And Burchett simply called McCarthy “bitter.”
McCarthy’s correct in his belief that the “Crazy Eight,” as he calls the eight Republicans who voted to oust him, introduced a new level of chaos into the House GOP caucus. That much seems clear, given new House Speaker Mike Johnson’s inability so far to unite Republicans around a bill that would fund the government beyond next week.
But McCarthy bears responsibility for this chaos, since he — in his quest to be named speaker — agreed to make it easier for individual lawmakers to initiate a speaker’s removal.
Now, he’s on the outside looking in, seemingly marginalized from power in the House. He’s officially reached old-man-shouting-at-cloud territory, voicing his gripes about reps less senior than he to a press corps eager to receive them.