After a week of 13 votes in which he failed to gain the support of a majority of members of the lower House of Representatives, Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy of California was elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives on Friday evening. McCarthy won the election by a narrow margin.
Dissident Republicans who initially rebelled against McCarthy appeared to initially oppose McCarthy’s bid for the speakership because of his cosy relationship with the Washington establishment and his initial resistance to a set of rule changes. One of these rule changes included a provision that would allow a single House member to put forward a “motion to vacate,” which would effectively depose the current speaker and trigger a new round of voting for a new House Speaker.
“I support the law,” says Kevin McCarthy on same-sex marriage.
On Thursday, when he was asked if his view on the matter had changed, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy effectively endorsed same-sex marriage.
McCarthy stated, “Look, marriage between people of the same gender is the law of the land, and it’s what America holds, and that’s the law of the land,” in reference to the legal status of same-sex marriage. “I believe in upholding the law of the land. I don’t understand how that is any different. I don’t understand how that can be considered news.
Following an appearance on Sunday’s episode of 60 Minutes in which Wyoming Republican Representative Liz Cheney stated that she now regrets her earlier opposition to marriage between people of the same gender, the stance of the Republican leader in the House was called into question.
Cheney is the daughter of a former Vice President, Dick Cheney, and has a sister who identifies as a lesbian. Earlier this year, Republicans removed her from her post as a House leadership role due to her vociferous criticism of former President Donald Trump. Cheney is also a lesbian.
“I was incorrect. I was completely incorrect,” Cheney admitted. “It’s a very personal matter for me, and it’s also a very emotional issue for my family. My sister and I have discussed the topic, and I have come to the conclusion that my father was correct… When we talk about freedom, we mean freedom for everyone.
McCarthy, the most senior member of the Republican caucus in the House and a congressman from California, had in the past advocated for restricting marriages between people of the same gender to those that take place between a man and a woman. In 2016, he was also instrumental in the Republican Party’s defeat of legislation that would have barred federal contractors from employing discriminatory practises toward gay and lesbian workers.
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McCarthy alleged hookup with House member after failed speaker bid
On Thursday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy abruptly withdrew his promising bid to become speaker after the married congressman was accused of having an affair with another married House member in an anonymous posting on Wikipedia. The affair was alleged to have taken place between McCarthy and another married House member.
McCarthy rose to his feet and addressed his fellow Republicans only a few minutes before they were to cast their ballots to make him the speaker-elect. He argued that the party needed a newcomer to unite them.
According to one of the people there, McCarthy reportedly said, “And I’m not that person.”
Members sat in amazement. Rep. Peter King stated that at least one female representative in the House started crying (R-LI).
According to King’s comments to The Post, “this was the shock of shocks.”
On Thursday, the Wikipedia entries for Representatives Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is a father of two, and Renee Ellmers (R-North Carolina), who is a mother of one, were altered to include an accusation that the two were having an affair. They were subsequently removed from the site.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, the Internet address from which the modifications were made emanated from the Department of Homeland Security in Springfield, Virginia.
Final Words:
He served on the board of directors for the Community Action Partnership of Kern at one point in time. [207]
McCarthy was accused of having an affair with Representative Renee Ellmers in October of 2015. The allegations were made public.
[208] He had suddenly withdrawn his name from consideration for the position of Speaker of the House not long before the charges were made public.
[209]
[210] A few days before, Representative Walter B. Jones Jr. had written Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chairwoman of the Republican Conference, a letter in which he stated that any contenders for a leadership post who had “misdeeds” should withdraw from the campaign. [75] Both McCarthy and Ellmers have stated that the accusation is false. [208]
An inquiry that was conducted in October 2018 revealed that William “Bill” Wages, who works for the company owned by McCarthy’s brother-in-law, Vortex Construction, had received $7.6 million in no-bid and other prime federal contracts from the year 2000. The majority of the work was for construction projects at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, which is located in the district that McCarthy represents that is based in Bakersfield, and at the Naval Air Station Lemoore, which is located in the county of Kings in the state of California. [211]
McCarthy is a die-hard supporter of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
