Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was behind the move to kick Nancy Pelosi out of her private office in the Capitol because he wanted it for himself.
Former Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) were ordered to clear out their offices on Tuesday by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C) in one of his first acts as interim Speaker.
CNN reported Wednesday that McCarthy was the one really behind the order to evict Pelosi from her office as payback for Democrats not helping him to defeat the Republican-led effort to remove him as Speaker.
Republican Rep. Garret Graves defended the move on Wednesday, telling reporters: “The deal is that the office that Pelosi is in right now is the office of the preceding speaker. Speaker Pelosi and other Democrats determined that they wanted a new … speaker, and it’s Kevin McCarthy. So, he’s getting the office.”
Pelosi slammed her eviction as a “sharp departure from tradition,” in a statement.
“As Speaker, I gave former Speaker Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished,” she said.
“Office space doesn’t matter to me, but it seems to be important to them. Now that the new Republican Leadership has settled this important matter, let’s hope they get to work on what’s truly important for the American people,” Pelosi added.
The House voted 216-210 to remove McCarthy as Speaker Tuesday. It was the first time a sitting Speaker was ousted from the position. Every House Democrat voted with eight Republicans to remove him.
Under House rules, McCarthy was required to name a lawmaker to serve as interim Speaker before he was ousted. He chose McHenry, who is one of his closest allies in the House.
