Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Announces Retirement From House

Former House Speaker and current Congressman Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) announced on Wednesday that he would be resigning from Congress by the end of the year, ending a 17 year run of representing the Bakersfield area and other surrounding areas in Washington.

A graduate of CSU Bakersfield, McCarthy first became involved in politics in 1987 when he began serving on the staff of then-Congressman Bill Thomas. A Young Republican leader at both the state and national stage throughout the 90s, McCarthy won his first election in 2000 when he was elected in as a trustee for the Kern Community College District. Within two years he was elected into the Assembly, and in just over a year later, he became the Assembly Minority Leader.

McCarthy was seen as a major rising star in the GOP by many pundits and proved them right in 2006 when he succeeded Thomas by being elected to Congress. Once in the House, McCarthy continued to be elevated to higher positions, including becoming Chief Deputy Whip in 2009, House Majority Whip in 2011, and House Minority Leader in 2014. In 2015 McCarthy was expected to become Speaker of the House, but following comments made about the Benghazi attack hearing that were seen as partisan instead of a usual investigation inquiry, McCarthy dropped out in favor of then Congressman Paul Ryan. After a few shifts in Congress in the late 2010s and early 2020, where McCarthy became the Minority Leader for a time, he was finally elevated to Speaker in January of this year.

For the next nine months, McCarthy had an eventful tenure as Speaker. This included allowing Fox News to have previously unreleased footage of the Capitol break-in, meeting the Taiwanese President over strong Chinese objections, working with President Joe Biden in helping solve the debt-ceiling crisis, and trying to convince Biden to not pick Julie Su as the next secretary of Labor. However, in September, McCarthy pushed forward a spending bill without massive cuts that many in the GOP wanted, as well as no funding going towards Ukraine in their war with Russia. With many Republicans upset, and Democrats wanting McCarthy out as well, a vote to remove McCarthy as House Speaker was initiated in early October. The vote narrowly passed 216-210, with eight Republicans joining the Democrats in ousting McCarthy.

Weakened from his removal, McCarthy contemplated remaining in Congress in the last few months amid a large scramble for the House Speakership. While many believed that McCarthy would leave at the end of his term following the 2024 election, McCarthy instead opted for an earlier retirement, announcing on Friday that he would be leaving Congress at the end of December.

McCarthy Announces Retirement

“As the son of a firefighter from Bakersfield, my story is the story of America,” posted McCarthy on X on Wednesday. “For me, every moment came with a great deal of devotion and responsibility. Serving you in Congress and as the 55th Speaker of the House has been my greatest honor.”

As the son of a firefighter from Bakersfield, my story is the story of America. For me, every moment came with a great deal of devotion and responsibility.

Serving you in Congress and as the 55th Speaker of the House has been my greatest honor. pic.twitter.com/jNnYQ8UO4k

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) December 6, 2023

In a statement, McCarthy added, “No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing. That may seem out of fashion in Washington these days, but delivering results for the American people is still celebrated across the country. It is in this spirit that I have decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways. I know my work is only getting started.”

“I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office. The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders.”

“Today I sit here having served as your whip, leader and as the 55th speaker of the House. We kept our government operating and our troops paid while wars broke out around the world. I have faith in this country.”

“No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing. That may seem out of fashion in Washington these days, but delivering results for the American people is still celebrated across the country. I never could have imagined the journey when I first threw my hat into the ring.  I go knowing I left it all on the field—as always, with a smile on my face. And looking back, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

“Now, it is time to pursue my passion in a new arena. While I will be departing the House at the end of this year, I will never, ever give up fighting for this country that I love so much.”

Despite his ousting only two months ago, many Republican leaders praised McCarthy for his service on Wednesday following his announcement.

“A razor-sharp political mind, Kevin personally raised hundreds of millions of dollars and recruited hundreds of diverse candidates that led us from deep in the minority to the majority,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC). “This devotion to building our party is born from a strong love of country and a heart for service that motivates Kevin at his core.”

However, experts noted on Wednesday that McCarthy’s retirement could potentially hurt the House GOP for the near future. With a special election not yet set up in the district, and the special election to replace former Congressman George Santos in New York not happening until February 13th, it means that the GOP will now have an even thinner 220-213 majority.

“McCarthy is going out in class, but he is also leaving Republicans in a tricky situation,” explained Washington lobbyist Miguel Sanford to the Globe. “Despite him not being the Speaker, a lot of Congressional members still listened to him. I mean, many have been under him since he led all those young Republican groups in the 90s.”

“So, yeah, Santos is out, but he had been largely pushed aside for some time now by both parties. McCarthy is the big blow. Most in the GOP still supported him and wanting him in at least through the end of his term. He wasn’t the whip anymore, but he could still unofficially do that job just fine. This leaves a big hole now. He is in a strong Republican District, so the district will be ok in the long-run. But this is still a huge blow.”