Former US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, speaks before a third vote to elect a new speaker after he was ousted 17 days ago at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 19, 2023.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Sunday he has not yet figured out whether he will rerun for his congressional seat in 2024.
“I got the holidays. I will talk to my family … and then I will make a decision,” McCarthy said in a CNN interview, weeks after he was ousted as speaker by a coalition of eight of his fellow Republicans.
McCarthy noted it has been more difficult for him to execute his policy agenda as a “rank-and-file” member of Congress: “It’s a little harder. You want to make other decisions.”
McCarthy’s comments come days after Republicans on Tuesday lost key races in swing states like Pennsylvania and Virginia. Some viewed Tuesday’s election night as a bellwether of what could come in 2024.
“We had a bad night, but you learn from it,” McCarthy said in the Sunday interview.
McCarthy was ousted from his position as speaker in October after he failed to rally the necessary support among other GOP members on a spending bill and then turned to Democrats to garner the votes and avoid a government shutdown. He later said that if the Republican conference wanted him back as speaker, he would consider it.
After his removal as speaker, the House scrambled for weeks to find his replacement, delaying policy action including funding approval to financially support Israel at the advent of its war against Hamas. In late October, the Republican-majority House finally settled on Louisiana representative Mike Johnson.