Hostilities between House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., spilled out in a very public way following clashes over Pelosi’s sham Jan. 6 commission and reinstatement of a dubious congressional mask mandate.
As reporters questioned Pelosi over her GOP counterpart’s criticism of the “perpetual pandemic state,” Pelosi reportedly was overheard murmuring “He’s such a moron,” before driving off in her SUV.
“Well, if she’s so brilliant, can she tell me where the science in the building changes between the House and the Senate?” McCarthy later told reporters. “Can she explain it to me, when the CDC says only vaccinated people need to wear a mask in hotspots?”
Many in the media took note of what MSN called the “new levels of bipartisan bickering” as Democrat leaders begin to face heat for their policy failures and emboldened Republicans push back at their divisive rhetoric.
Pelosi upped the stakes last week by refusing to allow two Republicans—Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana—onto the supposedly bipartisan panel to probe a pro-Trump uprising at the US Capitol.
During a press conference, McCarthy suggested it was a desperate move by an irrelevant leader.
“This is the people’s house. Not Pelosi’s house,” McCarthy said, according to the Sun. “Why are you allowing a lame-duck speaker to destroy this institution?”
He further called into question the credibility of the panel while announcing that he would rescind all of his proposed appointments to it.
“This represents an egregious abuse of power and will irreparably damage this institution,” McCarthy said. “This panel has lost all legitimacy and credibility and shows the Speaker is more interested in playing politics than seeking the truth.”
The duplicitous San Francisco Democrat, not to be outdone, appointed two disloyal GOP member, Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, whom McCarthy slammed as “Pelosi Republicans.”
On Friday, conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus launched a drive to force Pelosi from the speakership, the New York Post reported.
“We, the House Freedom Caucus, respectfully request that you pursue the authorization of the House Republican Conference, pursuant to Conference rules, to file and bring up a privileged motion by July 31, 2021, to vacate the chair and end Nancy Pelosi’s authoritarian reign as Speaker of the House,” they wrote in a letter to McCarthy.
It was unclear whether McCarthy would pursue the effort by Friday’s deadline, although Wednesday’s war of words was likely to raise tensions even higher in the closely-split chamber.
In a column for the New York Post, Miranda Devine said that even if the effort were to fail, it may signal a watershed moment for the GOP leader, whose reputation has often been that of an indecisive pushover.
“The move is no doubt doomed to fail,” Devine wrote, “but it’s well worth the exercise, if only to hold Pelosi to account for her divisive reign.”
