Speaker McCarthy Joins Fox & Friends

Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy led the charge to have her removed in 2023, and he joins us now. Mr. Speaker, thanks so much for joining the program. Thank you, Graham. Do you think they're going to let her back on? Are they that crazy? I think they will. Now, remember, when I became speaker, I removed two Democrats from certain committees. Eric Swalwell from the Intel Committee because he was sleeping with a Chinese spy. I tried to remove him earlier when I was minority leader, when I first got the briefing on it, and I took it to the floor. Every Democrat voted to keep him. When I became speaker, I removed Ilhan Omar. from foreign affairs because they also get top secret information and are anti-semitic comments. I had to take that to the floor and I only got two hundred and eighteen votes but All the Democrats voted to defend her, and it wasn't an easy vote. I remember I had some problem with some Republicans. Nancy Mace, it was to the very last moment. She was a holdout, and that was the vote that would put it over the top. But I believe these Democrats, even with more knowledge, not just her anti-Semitic comments before, but her knowledge now of the information we're getting, maybe have some allegations of false information, becoming a citizen there. But I bet you they'll vote to put her back on, and it's concerning. And we just scratched the surface on that criminal, alleged criminal activity there. I want to move on because Representative Jim Jordan, who's going to be the new minority leader, laid out his top priorities for the Republicans last night on Hannity. Let's play it. You paint with big, bold colors and you show the difference. They're for big government, higher taxes. We're for lower taxes and more freedom. They're for an open border, sanctuary jurisdiction and more violence. We're for a secure border and less crime. They're for a weak military. We're for a strong military. You highlight the differences. We've got to fight in committee on the House floor and tell the truth and the facts about what they're trying to do. Medicare for all. Take away private health insurance. We've got to do all that. And then you have the president with the ability to veto the crazy things that they pass. So, Mr. Speaker, what's the path forward? I think Republicans, we have to listen to the voters, have to listen to young people, to that coalition that was built just a couple years ago. And what lessons do you believe can be learned here? Well, I get so excited listening to Jim. I think they made the right decision this week because this is a new beginning. I think they started to win back the majority with that election. The first thing they have to do is stay in session and actually work towards it. Have a vision of where to go. Jim is a fighter, and this is what's very important. Find the very... best people out there to be able to run in every single district, challenge the Democrats in every single way, and have an agenda. That's so important. But I feel there's a new life and new excitement inside the Republican Party with this recent election. And I'm also very excited about Brian Jack taking over the NRCC. I think you're going to see something different than the last two election cycles where the Republicans lost in Congress. I think we're going to start winning again. So I know it's the other chamber, but many Republicans, although they think John Thune is an honorable, nice man, believe that the other chamber didn't take the same path of new leadership. What do you make of that? Well, John Thune is a good leader. You've got to sit there. He's got to get every single member. And there are some senators who are much different the way the founders created it, where they served six years. And you watch what some of those members have done. He's got to get the votes to be able to get there. He can't just... Force it. I think the combination of having Jim Jordan there is going to help the Senate, and I think there's a lot of new people coming into the Senate, Republicans, the majority of them coming over from the House. I think that's going to be a positive addition that can help John Thune and Barrasso and the others move forward. Look, this election was devastating, and we shouldn't just say the polls were wrong or the voters were wrong. We should actually listen to the voters because they decide, and we should see that. But make the changes that are needed to make sure we can win this majority back. Look, when I took over in the minority, we're about 190. We won two cycles in a row, even when Republicans were losing. And we need to get back to recruiting better candidates, have a clear message, have the principles and philosophy of where to go forward and stay in session. When they give you 24 months to be in the majority, use every single day to show the American public you're listening to them. Hear, hear. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.