House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) joked that it would be hard not to hit Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with the gavel if he becomes Speaker after next year’s midterms.
McCarthy allegedly made the comments during a dinner on Saturday evening after he was presented with an oversized gavel by Tennessee Republicans.
“It will be hard not to hit her with it but I will bang it down,” McCarthy reportedly said, according to Washington Post reporter Michael Scherer.
Things escalated last week between Pelosi and the Minority Leader after McCarthy joined other Republicans to protest a mask mandate instituted by the Capitol physician.
McCarthy said the decision was “conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state.” This led Speaker Pelosi to call him a “moron.”
Republicans are also lashing out at the Speaker for vetoing two of McCarthy’s recommendations for the select committee to investigate Jan. 6– Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Jim Banks (Ind.). Both lawmakers are staunch Trump loyalists who voted to overturn the results of the election in Congress and released statements after their appointment to the committee signalling their intent to run interference to protect the former president.
