House minority leader Kevin McCarthy criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her party on Sunday for being more concerned with a far-left agenda rather than focusing on the needs of the American people.
McCarthy’s fiery speech came after Pelosi was re-elected president of the House by Democrats, who hold the majority in the House with the smallest margin in 20 years.
Quitting mentioning Democrats by name, McCarthy called on House legislators for neglecting their responsibilities in the past two years “during some of the most challenging times for our country.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi receives the hammer from the president of the minority leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., On the opening day of the 117th Capitol Congress in Washington, Sunday, January 3, 2021.
(Erin Scott / Pool via AP)
“When the need for more relief from the pandemic was obvious, did we deliver a timely lifeline that America needed? Or did we say that nothing was better than something until policy dictated our actions?” McCarthy said. “When the unrest spread through cities and communities across the country, did we provide the security that Americans wanted or allow calls to get money out of the police, intimidating us from protecting life, freedom and property?”
For this, several members of the Chamber could be heard booing, while others applauded the minority leader in the Chamber.
McCarthy then contrasted the Republican platform with the Democrat, saying that his party really listened to its constituents and they pledged to “restore our way of life, rebuild the economy and renew the American dream”.
The fact that no Republican candidate was defeated in the November election showed that voters “endorsed common sense, not conflict,” said McCarthy.
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“It was a referendum against a radical agenda to take money from the police and punish hard work. It was an alert,” said McCarthy, adding that “never, never, never would vote” to take money from the police.
Before officially congratulating Pelosi on his fourth term as mayor, McCarthy promised to fight for the people he represents: “oilfield farmers and workers who rise up at dawn to work, who pray to God and create the next generation of good people and decent citizens. ”
“Can we keep this commitment to America? No more badly placed priorities. The American people deserve better. It is worth fighting for America. It is worth fighting for the rights of Americans. It is worth fighting for your dreams. It is worth fighting for their voices. And most importantly, their voices are worth hearing on this floor, “said McCarthy.
Pelosi, who has led his party in the House since 2003 and is the only woman to be Mayor, received 216 votes to 209 from McCarthy. It was the first vote of the new Congress, which met on Sunday with the COVID-19 guidelines requiring testing and facial coverage for lawmakers.
With little room for error, Pelosi suffered only a handful of Democratic defections in the most recent demonstration of his ability to garner support, and no opponent challenged her for the job.
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Democrats gave Pelosi a standing ovation when the final count was announced, while the Republican side of the chamber was almost empty. The vote lasted two and a half hours, an unusually long time, as lawmakers were divided into groups to reduce health risks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.