Meet Trump Ally Kevin McCarthy, who is likely To become next US house speaker

After the results of the US mid-term elections, the Republicans are set  to take control of the House, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader, is looking to be the speaker, a post he has pursued for years. McCarthy, the GOP’s leader since 2019, informed his colleagues in a letter on Wednesday about his intentions to run for the post.

“I will be a listener every bit as much as a Speaker, striving to build consensus from the bottom-up rather than commanding the agenda from the top-down,” USA Today quoted McCarthy as saying in the letter.

However, a historically weak performance of the Republicans in the mid-term elections has complicated his path to speakership of the House.

As per forecasts, the Republicans will win at least 218 seats, the minimum required to maintain majority in the 435-seat chamber. However, the numbers are far less than the 30- to 50-seat margin that was expected earlier.

Till Sunday night, the Republicans had secured 212 seats and Democrats 203.

Meanwhile, a challenger from within the Republicans has stepped forward to take on House minority leader Kevin McCarthy. Arizona representative Andy Biggs, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus who was a key player in former President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 election, said “this is not just about Kevin. It’s about institutional direction and trajectory”, New York Times reported.

Rise of Kevin McCarthy

Born in 1965, Kevin McCarthy hails from the small town of Bakersfield, California. He is the son of a firefighter. McCarthy is believed to have struggled with a speech impediment in his childhood. At the age of 21, McCarthy set up his restaurant business, Kevin O’s Deli. He later sold his business and paid for his college degree at California State University, Bakersfield.

While at school, McCarthy interned for Congressman Bill Thomas, who became his future political mentor. McCarthy was elected to represent the 32nd Assembly District in the California State Assembly in 2002. He was elected to Congress in 2006 and soon became the chief deputy whip and later the majority whip. In 2014, McCarthy was elected as Republican Leader in the House.

McCarthy built his networks among congressional Republicans and soon mastered the inner workings of the redistricting, organising and electioneering processes, and candidate recruitment.

He also displayed astounding fundraising skills that benefitted his entire caucus. McCarthy forged alliances within the Republican Party by raising funds to the tune of over $100 million since 2016, The Hindu reported.

McCarthy and Trump

After Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential elections, McCarthy became close to the President. He once told The Washington Post that he saw Trump pick red and pink flavours of Starbursts, a square-shaped candy fruit chews, and made sure to deliver a jar of them to the president as a gift.

McCarthy came to be known as Trump’s friend and fixer with the former president often referring to him as “My Kevin” in private. In 2018, Trump backed McCarthy to lead House Republicans after they lost the majority. “We have a great man, and he’s going to be hopefully a great speaker of the House,” NPR quoted Trump as saying.

In 2020, after Trump lost the election to Joe Biden, McCarthy joined hundreds of candidates who openly questioned or denied the legitimacy of the presidential poll outcome.

Controversial remark

In 2022, McCarthy was mired in controversy when an audio of the House minority leader, obtained and reported on by The New York Times, surfaced. In the audio, McCarthy expresses concerns about far-right House Republicans inciting violence against other lawmakers in the aftermath of January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

McCarthy is heard repeatedly lamenting the inflammatory comments made by some Republican lawmakers, which was in stark contrast to his efforts to downplay Republicans’ role in the January 6 incident.

Despite his comments, Trump backed McCarthy for House speaker in the final leg of the mid-term elections.

The former President has also been privately encouraging allies to support McCarthy’s election as the speaker, CNN reported quoting two sources familiar with the effort.

Trump views McCarthy as an asset which would benefit him should he contest in the 2024 elections.

Alliances hurt

It is McCarthy’s skill to cultivate political alliances that has become a stumbling block for the Republican representative today. McCarthy is being considered by the disparate camps within the party as being close to their political rivals. The pro-Trump Republican Freedom Caucus, which played a key role in 2015 in denying McCarthy’s first campaign for the post of Speaker, has once again signalled its opposition to his candidature.

Should McCarthy become speaker, it could be seen as a major win for Trump. On the other hand, it would mean a blow to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who is a likely to run for 2024 presidential elections.

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