On Tuesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s attempt to blame his removal as Speaker of the House on Democrats by slamming him.
In a discussion on X, Ocasio-Cortez said that McCarthy had counted on Democratic support to keep him in the speakership. She insisted that her group had been asked for nothing in return for their votes, essentially lending support to McCarthy “for free.”
After his removal, McCarthy claimed that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had promised to back him should Matt Gaetz call for McCarthy’s ouster. He said that the Democrats’ refusal to support him was a strategic move taken in the party’s interest.
Ocasio-Cortez called McCarthy arrogant. She said he publicly declared that he wouldn’t engage with Democrats, phoned almost none, and criticized those who assisted with the Continuing Resolution, and then he expected their votes without offering anything in return.
Ocasio-Cortez continued to slam McCarthy in later posts, saying he had broken his word to Democrats before. She stated that he should have known that the Democrats would rally behind the movement to have him removed from office.
AOC noted that McCarthy swore he would not launch an impeachment of Biden without a House vote, but he did not follow that promise. She said he would have done so if McCarthy cared about the institution. (It should be noted that the Democrats treated former President Donald Trump similarly.)
The NY Representative said if McCarthy were committed to the institution’s care, he would have kept his word with the President about the debt ceiling.
She said after all his efforts over the years, one would think McCarthy would have learned from the mistakes of his predecessors, Boehner and Ryan, who also went down at the hands of their destructive wing. McCarthy opted to give them even more authority. He defended them and chastised people who didn’t back Trump. He is not a victim, AOC said in summary.
The contest to succeed McCarthy has already begun, with candidates including Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA).
