Kevin McCarthy

U.S. Senate in bipartisan vote repeals decades-old Iraq war authorizations

BY: - March 29, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators revoked their approval for the Gulf and Iraq wars on Wednesday, taking a broadly bipartisan vote to repeal the Authorizations for Use of Military Force that have stayed on the books years after the two wars ended.  The 66-30 vote sends the measure to the U.S. House, where Speaker Kevin McCarthy […]

Biden administration details potential cuts in education, food aid and more under GOP plan

BY: - March 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — Federal departments and agencies say U.S. House Republicans’ plans to cut federal spending would result in reductions to key programs like food aid, education assistance and wildfire management. The series of letters from across the federal government released Monday detail exactly how plans to cut at least $130 billion in domestic spending during […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Republicans in Congress have raised the prospect of using the debt limit to force Democrats to the negotiating table on spending cuts. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

U.S. House speaker calls for ‘responsible’ debt limit legislation, shares few details

BY: - February 7, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday said the greatest threat to the nation’s future is the rising national debt, though he gave few specifics for how he planned to lower deficit spending or avoid a first-ever default on the debt this year.  The California Republican, in a 10-minute address from the U.S. […]

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will deliver GOP response to Biden State of the Union address

BY: - February 2, 2023

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will deliver the Republicans’ address to the nation from Little Rock on Tuesday following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech to Congress. U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sanders would offer Americans an alternative to Biden and the Democrats’ view of […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy answers questions from reporters at the U.S. Capitol about debt limit talks at the White House, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

Biden, McCarthy hold ‘productive’ and ‘frank’ debt limit talks as fiscal cliffs loom

BY: - February 1, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy huddled behind closed doors at the White House on Wednesday in the first of what will likely be several conversations as the country approaches two fiscal cliffs this year amid divided government.  The top issue at the moment is when and how to address […]

Biden, Democrats to U.S. House Republicans: Show us your debt limit plan

BY: - January 24, 2023

WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders huddled with President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday, ahead of what will be a tumultuous few months, with lawmakers sharply divided on the debt limit and short on time.  “I have no intention of letting the Republicans wreck our economy, nor does anybody around this table,” Biden said […]

The facade of the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C.

U.S. hits debt limit and Treasury Department begins ‘extraordinary measures’

BY: - January 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — The nation reached its debt limit Thursday, beginning the uncertain process known as extraordinary measures, in which the U.S. Treasury Department uses accounting maneuvers to avoid defaulting on the debt.  The often-used practice is intended to give the Republican House, Democratic Senate and Biden administration time to negotiate a bipartisan agreement to raise […]

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gives a thumbs-up after being elected Speaker of the House in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 7, 2023. After four days of voting and 15 ballots, McCarthy secured enough votes to become speaker for the 118th Congress. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

U.S. House GOP backs rules plan without disclosing deals made with hard-right members

BY: and - January 9, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House adopted rules for the 118th Congress on Monday, though several of the concessions Speaker Kevin McCarthy made with more conservative members of the Republican Party to secure the gavel weren’t included in the document, or publicly circulated ahead of the vote.  The 55-page rules package the House voted nearly party-line […]

California Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy heads to the U.S. House chamber just after noon on Jan. 5, 2023, as the House began a third day of votes on his bid to become speaker. "We're just going to keep working until we solve it," he told reporters. (Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

U.S. House stuck for a third day as Republicans struggle to unite around a speaker

BY: and - January 5, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House slogged through more votes for speaker Thursday, with Republicans unable to reach consensus about whether Kevin McCarthy should lead them during the 118th Congress, or if another lawmaker should win the gavel.  Twenty-one Republicans voted against McCarthy during the third day, signaling that ongoing closed-door negotiations and talks on the […]

U.S. Rep.-elect Steve Scalise (R-LA) (right) talks to Rep.-elect Ken Buck (R-CO) in the House Chambers on the second day of voting for Speaker of the House on Jan. 04, 2023. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to earn more than 218 votes on six separate ballots Tuesday and Wednesday, the first time in 100 years that the Speaker was not elected on the first ballot. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

U.S. House paralyzed following second day of GOP failure to elect a speaker

BY: and - January 4, 2023

(This story was updated at 7:50 p.m. Central on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, to reflect the House’s vote to adjourn until Thursday.) WASHINGTON — The U.S. House adjourned without a speaker for the second day in a row Wednesday as Republicans’ stalemate over who should lead the chamber for the next two years dragged on, with […]

U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol after he was nominated for speaker of the House by members of the House GOP, on Nov. 15, 2022. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

U.S. House conservatives tank McCarthy bid to be speaker on multiple ballots

BY: and - January 3, 2023

(This story has been updated to reflect that House Republicans adjourned after three unsuccessful votes to choose a new speaker.) WASHINGTON — Republican control of the U.S. House got off to a rocky start Tuesday when the party was unable to decide who should become speaker amid a sharp disagreement within the party’s more conservative faction. […]

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, on her future in the House of Representatives and said she will not seek a leadership role in the upcoming Congress. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Nancy Pelosi, first woman to serve as speaker of the U.S. House, steps down from leadership

BY: - November 17, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who became the first woman in history to hold the gavel, shepherding landmark bills across four presidencies, announced Thursday she’ll step aside from leadership though she’ll remain in Congress. “With great confidence in our caucus, I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” she […]