One reporter’s question — about whether or not House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) might defy a subpoena from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s January 6th Committee — prompted McCarthy to unleash his plans for a future when Republicans had control of Congress.
“Would you defy a subpoena?” a reporter asked McCarthy, who had already given a statement Wednesday saying he would not cooperate with the January 6th Committee. The reporter pointed out that McCarthy, who had spoken with former President Donald Trump on the day of the riot on Capitol Hill, had a “unique window” on what Trump had been thinking at the time.
“Doesn’t the American public have a right to know what the President of the United States was thinking and doing while the U.S. Capitol was under attack?” another reporter asked.
“That’s a great question. You know the great thing about that? I didn’t wait a year later. On January 6th I spoke to the American public. Not by one network but by many networks. My conversation was very short advising the president of what was happening here,” McCarthy replied, saying that there was nothing he could add to the committee’s investigation or any forthcoming legislation. “It is pure politics what they are playing.”
“Will you defy a subpoena?” they asked again, arguing that oversight did not always have to have legislation as its end goal. “If you are in the majority the only oversight you will conduct is oversight you intend to write bills off of? Congress has a long history of legislating – oversight that doesn’t necessarily result in legislation. You guys did it, Pelosi did it, Boehner did it, Ryan did it. A long history of that.”
“And how often have we gone after people’s phone records?” McCarthy asked.
“I’m asking what you will do if you’re the Speaker of the House will you only conduct oversight that is –”
“You know what we’ll do if we’re entrusted with the majority?” McCarthy interrupted. “The first thing we’ll do is talk about how do we lower the prices for the American public? How do we make gasoline prices affordable again? How do we put food back on the shelves? How do we stop this rise of inflation and prices of everything you deal with? How do we secure our border? How do we stop government mandating and controlling our lives? How do we make cities safe again?”
“And yes, we will hold this administration accountable,” McCarthy continued, detailing several key issues that he believed were deserving of special attention and oversight. “We just found this week — the Secretary of Education, asked the National School Board to send them a letter so he can go to the Attorney General to now investigate the parents who go to school board meetings of terrorism. Afghanistan, we have 13 new gold star families. That never had to happen. How many Americans are still stuck there? Have any of you asked that question? The president said just weeks before he would not leave until every American was gone. The taxpayers that bought all that weaponry that the Taliban now has. Have you got any reporting and recording of where that is? Where is it being sold to now on the black-market? I.R.S. releasing Americans’ tax returns.”
“Yes, we can do both, and we will,” McCarthy concluded. “I hope you all have a great weekend. Take care.”