Kevin McCarthy’s Journey: From Rejection to Perseverance
In the early days of the 118th Congress, California Republican Kevin McCarthy faced a grueling 15 rounds of voting, the longest speaker floor fight since before the Civil War. Despite the challenges, he revealed that he had privately expressed doubts to his staff, but a call from his friend and sportscaster Jim Gray, echoing the famous phrase “You just win, baby,” re-energized him, leading to his ultimate success on January 7, 2023.
This wasn’t the first time McCarthy had defied expectations. As a young man, he was rejected from a summer internship in his local congressman’s office, but he went on to get the job and eventually win the seat himself in 2007. Eight years later, he abruptly quit a speaker’s race, and pundits declared his political career dead. However, it would take him another eight years to secure one of the top prizes in American politics.
McCarthy’s perseverance paid off, and by May, he had struck a massive deal with President Joe Biden to extend the debt ceiling for two years and modestly cap spending. However, his speakership was short-lived, and he became the first speaker ever to be removed in the middle of his term through a motion to vacate, forced out by his archenemy, then-Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
The ongoing feud with Gaetz has been one of the nastiest on Capitol Hill in recent memory, with McCarthy describing Gaetz as a “real sociopath.” Despite this, McCarthy continues to serve in various leadership positions and has given speeches in places like Tokyo and Abu Dhabi, advising wealthy business leaders.
Reflecting on his time in politics, McCarthy expressed no regrets, saying, “Your stumbles, the good and the bad, make you who you are, and those are the things I learned from… I enjoyed every minute of it, every challenge.” He even stated, “I’d do it all again tomorrow.”
