Who is Kevin McCarthy, the “moderate” who convinced no one and underestimated the radical Republicans

It took fifteen attempts in January Kevin McCarthy be elected leader of the House of Representatives American, faced with the refusals of the radicals of his own party, the same ones who removed him from office this Tuesday after a few months of tug of war in which he was unable to dominate them.

After US House of Representatives approved by 216 votes in favor and 210 against the motion to recall it, McCarthy became the lowest speaker of this chamber with the permission of Theodore M. Pomeroywhich in 1869 was “Speaker”for one day, for bureaucratic reasons.

LOOK HERE: US House of Representatives removes Kevin McCarthy as president in historic vote

He has been leader for a total of 269 days, during which time he has lived under pressure from radical republicans grouped under the so-called “Freedom Convention”(The Freedom Caucus), also called MAGA Republicans.

Complex months in which he made concessions to the hard wing of the party, for example opening a political trial of American President Joe Biden, despite his initial reluctance.

But nothing was enough. To gain his support in those January days, he had to accept a rule change so that any Republican could call a vote to remove him.

And the Florida congressman seized on this change Matt Gaetzwho at the time voted 13 times for alternative candidates (among them former president donald trumpdespite not running for office) until the last two rounds, in which he abstained.

McCarthy managed to avoid an impeachment motion in June, despite the anger of radicals because, when the United States was on the verge of defaulting on its sovereign debt, the “President,” as in the president of the Low camerareached a deal with Biden to raise the debt ceiling.

Lawmakers sympathetic to Trump (2017-2021) felt betrayed by this agreement and negotiations over the latest budgets for fiscal year 2024 were large and demanded major cuts.

After weeks of negotiations and approaching the deadline, a 45-day extension was announced last Saturday, following a bipartisan agreement promoted by McCarthy in which major cuts are renounced.

This turned out to be the final straw for MAGA Republicans, who had wanted him out since he arrived.

MORE INFORMATION: Trump-allied congressman presents motion to remove leader of the US House of Representatives

A complex choice

Although he did not convince everyone in his own party, McCarthy was the most predictable candidate among Republicans to become president of the US House of Representatives after years of leading the party there.

But radicals also considered this “moderate” and ended up making history, as it had been a century since a “President” had been elected in the first vote. He had to go through fifteen.

The differences between his supporters – grouped under the label “Just Kevin”(Just Kevin) – and his detractors -”Never Kevin“(Kevin never)” – reflected the party’s infighting, leader in House of Representatives since the November 2022 midterm elections.

McCarthy was never a figure of complete consensus: in 2015, with Republicans leading the House, he unexpectedly resigned from his party’s top position in that chamber due to a lack of sufficient internal support.

Born in California For 58 years, he has served as Republican minority leader in the House of Representatives since 2019, with Democrat Nancy Pelosi as president. Since 2014 and until then, with Republicans commanding the House and John Boehner It is Paul Ryan as “Speakers“, held the position of”number two” from this camera.

In August 2014, when he took office, he made history by winning it after just seven and a half years working in the corridors of the Capitol.

Trump friend

Despite the fact that MAGAs call “moderate”For the California representative, grandson of a farmer and son of a firefighter who grew up in a working-class family, McCarthy’s relationship with Trump and his thoughts are close.

To the point that Trump himself did not suggest supporting Gaetz’s proposal to remove him, although he praised the two members of Congress at an event held this weekend.

SEE TOO: Republican will call for impeachment of the president of the US House of Representatives in agreement with Democrats

McCarthy worked hard to gain Trump’s endorsement and cultivated a close relationship while he was president. He was the first Republican leader to visit the mansion of Mar-a-Lago (Florida) after Trump left the The White Housea few weeks after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Although it didn’t work until the fifteenth vote, in those January days Trump encouraged MAGAs to support McCarthy, support that was not enough for him to survive in office.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.