House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Thursday for not being honest with the American people when she outlined her caucus’ agenda when overtaking the majority.
“Democrats are trying to impeach the president because they are scared they cannot defeat him at the ballot box — that’s not my words, that’s the words of my colleagues from the other side of the aisle that have offered impeachment three different times,” McCarthy said while speaking on the House floor. “This impeachment is not only an attempt to undo the last election, it is an attempt to influence the next one as well.”
“This is not what Democrats promised when they entered the majority 11 months ago … we heard what the speaker said when she talked about words of optimism and cooperation. It was said we would work together to make America stronger, more secure, and more prosperous,” he continued. “We were told our mission was to return the power to the people. In fact, our new colleagues on the other side of the aisle were sent to Washington with a mandate to do just that. So what’s happening? Nothing like that today.”
McCarthy’s remarks came during the House’s debate period on the resolution establishing the process for the Democrat-led impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump. Pelosi had previously been reluctant to embrace her caucus’ demands to move forward on impeachment proceedings, even as the calls grew louder.
Democrats largely gained the House majority after a wave of moderates were elected to purple districts during the 2018 midterm election cycle. With the 2020 election on the horizon, Pelosi had been fearing that voters’ distaste for impeachment could put the majority back in the hands of Republicans. Over the summer, the speaker repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to suppress her party’s cries.
“Not long ago, Democrats recognized that a partisan impeachment would put politics over people and harm our nation,” McCarthy said. “That exact same speaker that talked about cooperation, promised the American people that they would do different, they would be different if we trusted you with the majority — you have failed in that promise.”
“That speaker said impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, the word bipartisan, I do not think we should go down that path because it divides the country,” he continued. “What has changed since those words have been spoken?”
The Republican leader noted that as Congress prepares to adjourn for another recess, it continues to neglect its duty to the American people. Rather than debating issues critical to national security or passing legislation to fund the government and pay American troops, he argued that Congress has been solely focusing on undemocratically and unfairly investigating the president.
“This Congress records more subpoenas than laws, that’s the legacy. It is not just devoid of solutions for the American people, it is now abusing its power to discredit democracy by using secret interviews and selective leaks to portray the president’s legitimate actions as an impeachable offense,” McCarthy said. “Democrats are continuing their permanent campaign to undermine his legitimacy. For the last three years, they have predetermined the president’s guilt, they have never accepted the voter’s choice to make him president.”
“We’re one year away from an election. Not just for this house but for the highest office of presidency,” he added. “Why do you not trust the people? Why do you not allow the people to have a voice? Why in a process that America lends their voice to all of us, that you deny us to speak for them?”