McCarthy Denies Plan To Resign Before End Of Term

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has denied a report that he’ll resign before the end of his term, after Politico reported that he would do so after the next Speaker election.

“No, I’m not resigning. I’m staying, so don’t worry,” McCarthy told reporters on Friday, adding “We’re going to keep the majority, I’m going to help the people I got here and we’re going to expand it.”

Earlier, Politico reported that McCarthy told GOP members in a closed-door meeting: “I’m going to spend time with my family,” adding “I might have been given a bad break, but I’m still the luckiest man alive.”

At the same time, some Republicans are reviving his name as a speaker candidate, even as it remains unclear whether he’d accept it.

They argue no one else could get the 218 Republican votes needed to be speaker, they argue, as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise enter next week’s race as frontrunners that still might not be able to get over the top.

The “only workable outcome is to restore Kevin McCarthy as Speaker under party rules that respect and enforce the right of the majority party to elect him,” Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) said in a statement on Thursday. “This depends entirely on several of the dissidents to disenthrall themselves from their decision and to repair the damage before it is too late. I appeal to them to act while there is still time.” -Politico

“I’ll do anything I can to help almost all of you. Don’t worry, I’ve raised a helluva lot of money in the last hour,” McCarthy told his members during a Tuesday closed-door conference meeting.

Looks like Kevin’s sticking around.