House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Sunday he sees no fellow Republicans willing to challenge his leadership if the GOP takes the chamber’s majority next year.
“I’ve never seen our party more united. We’re not focused on individuals. We’re focused on the country first and the policies,” Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“Our problems are too big to fight among ourselves and think so small. And that’s exactly what we’re doing — putting this country first to solve our problems,” he said.
During last month’s Republican retreat in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Mr. McCarthy told The Washington Times he believes he “will be speaker” in January.
He declined to estimate how many House seats Republicans would gain in November’s midterm elections, but others in his leadership team have predicted the number as high as 70.
While Republicans are poised to win the House majority, several veteran GOP lawmakers, including Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan, John Katko of New York and Kevin Brady of Texas, announced their retirements this year, prompting concern about the Republican conference’s mindset among some members.
In an interview with Politico, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska warned that the party cannot “have this mindset of ’burn the House down.’ We got to be a governing party when we’re in the majority, so we need people like Upton and folks like that. So other people have to step up.”
Asked about the lawmakers’ retirements, Mr. McCarthy countered that House Democrats are the ones with the retirement problems.
“Well, if you look at who is retiring in Congress, there’s 31 Democrats retiring,” he said. “That’s the highest number since 1992. There’s a reason why, because they are not even agreeing with their own policies.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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