Kevin McCarthy is an American politician who held the position of the 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Affiliated with the Republican Party, he presently represents California’s 20th congressional district, covering a significant portion of the San Joaquin Valley.
Bio/Wiki
Age- 58 years
Height- 5 feet 11 inches
Weight- 88 kg
Full name-Kevin Owen McCarthy
Born- 26 January 1965
Birthplace- Bakersfield, California, United States
Spouse-Judy McCarthy (m. 1992)
Profession-Politician
Nationality-American
Office- Representative (R-CA 20th District) since 2023
Previous offices- Representative, CA 23rd District (2013–2023), MORE
Family
Kevin Owen McCarthy hails from Bakersfield, California, where he was born. His parents, Roberta Darlene , a homemaker, and Owen McCarthy, who held the position of an assistant city fire chief. Being a fourth-generation resident of Kern County, McCarthy has profound roots in California.
McCarthy is the initial member of his immediate family to join the Republican Party, contrasting with his parents who were affiliated with the Democratic Party.
Wife and children
McCarthy is wed to Judy and together, they have two children, Connor McCarthy, Meghan McCarthy. They are longtime residents of Bakersfield. McCarthy and his family are practicing Baptists and are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
In October 2015, McCarthy faced accusations of having a romantic involvement with Representative Renee Ellmers. These claims arose shortly after he surprisingly withdrew from the race for Speaker of the House. Both McCarthy and Ellmers vehemently denied the allegation.
Education
Between 1979 and 1983, McCarthy attended Bakersfield High School, where he was an active member of the football team. He later pursued his higher education at California State University, Bakersfield, earning a Bachelor of Science in marketing in 1989 and a Master of Business Administration in 1994. Throughout his college years, he also worked as a seasonal firefighter for the Kern County Fire Department.
Career
Political Career
McCarthy started his political career as a member of Congressman Bill Thomas’s staff, serving from 1987 to 2002. During this period, he chaired the California Young Republicans in 1995 and later led the Young Republican National Federation from 1999 to 2001. From the late 1990s to 2000, he held the position of Thomas’s district director. McCarthy’s initial electoral victory came in 2000 when he was elected as a trustee for the Kern Community College District. However, his relationship with Thomas soured over time, with Thomas publicly criticizing McCarthy in various interviews.
In 2002, McCarthy was elected to the California State Assembly, where he assumed the role of the Republican floor leader in 2003. His political career further ascended when he won a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2006, representing California’s 22nd district. This victory marked his entry into national politics, succeeding his former boss, Bill Thomas, who had retired. Over the years, the district underwent renumbering, becoming the 23rd district in 2013 and eventually the 20th district in 2023.
U.S. House of Representatives
In his congressional tenure, Kevin McCarthy held various key positions and affiliations. He served on the Committee on Financial Services, including subcommittees focusing on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, as well as Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. Additionally, he was a member of the Congressional Western Caucus, aligning himself with regional interests. McCarthy was deeply involved in party leadership roles, participating in the House Republican Steering Committee and serving as the House Republican Chief Deputy Whip from 2009 to 2011. Subsequently, he rose through the ranks, becoming the House Majority Whip from 2011 to 2014, followed by the role of House Majority Leader from 2014 to 2019. He then transitioned into the position of House Minority Leader from 2019 to 2023, and for a brief period, he assumed the significant role of Speaker of the House from January to October 2023.
Speaker of the House
During his tenure as minority leader, McCarthy spearheaded the Republicans in the 2022 election cycle. Despite widespread predictions of substantial gains for the party in the House, the actual results led to a narrow majority, maintaining the historical pattern of the incumbent president’s party losing ground in midterm elections. This victory marked the Republicans’ return to the majority, reminiscent of the 115th Congress. However, McCarthy faced internal challenges, with some members of the conference opposing his bid for speaker, despite winning an internal vote with 188 votes to Andy Biggs’s 31 in early November.
At the beginning of the 118th Congress on January 3, 2023, McCarthy faced initial opposition, failing to secure a majority of votes on the first ballot due to resistance from Democrats and 19 Republicans. This marked the first instance since December 1923 that a speaker election’s first ballot didn’t produce a winner. After 15 rounds of voting, McCarthy eventually became speaker on January 7, having made concessions to the right-wing Freedom Caucus, including allowing a single House member to propose a vote for the speaker’s removal and granting three Freedom Caucus members seats on the influential Rules Committee. This prolonged multi-ballot speaker election was the lengthiest since 1859.
In February 2023, McCarthy faced backlash after providing Fox News host Tucker Carlson with over 40,000 hours of security footage from the January 6 Capitol attack. Colleagues like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized this move.
March 2023 saw McCarthy’s announcement about an upcoming meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on U.S. soil. In April 2023, McCarthy, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, extended an invitation to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to address a joint session of Congress, scheduled for April 27.
Amid a debt-ceiling crisis in May 2023, McCarthy collaborated closely with President Biden to find a resolution to the issue.
Amid accusations of corruption against President Joe Biden, numerous Republicans demanded his impeachment. On September 1, 2023, McCarthy declared that he wouldn’t initiate an impeachment inquiry without a complete House vote, even though he lacked enough Republican support for such a move.
These impeachment claims coincided with growing concerns about a potential federal government shutdown. McCarthy’s compromises with Biden angered members of the Freedom Caucus, who advocated for reduced spending. This cause found support from politicians outside the House, notably including Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. In the midst of Republican disagreements and an effort to suspend legislators’ pay during shutdowns, Representative Angie Craig introduced the McCarthy (My Constituents Cannot Afford Rebellious Tantrums, Handle Your) Shutdown Act.
Net Worth 2023
Kevin McCarthy is a U.S. politician with a net worth of $30 million.
Kevin McCarthy: Historic Ousting as House Speaker
For the inaugural occasion in American history, Congress members have made the unprecedented decision to remove the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy. This move, which stripped him of his influential role and party leadership, occurred as Democrats joined forces with dissenting Republicans in a remarkable house vote. The identity of McCarthy’s successor remains uncertain. Patrick McHenry from North Carolina will act as the interim speaker until Republicans convene next Wednesday to choose a new leader. This development transpired over a weekend during which the US government narrowly avoided a debilitating shutdown that could have disrupted essential services and left hundreds of thousands of workers without employment.
In an unusual turn of events, the conservative faction of the Republican Party collaborated with Democrats today to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy had been forewarned that members of his own party were targeting him following his cooperation with Democrats to pass a temporary budget bill, averting a government shutdown. Matt Gaetz, a prominent figure among House Republicans, fulfilled his promise to challenge McCarthy’s speaker ship, stemming from disagreements over budget priorities. Gaetz and other Republicans had advocated for using the threat of a shutdown to push for significant budget reductions, spanning various government programs and military aid to Ukraine.”
