Kevin McCarthy Delivers His Final Speech on House Floor: Lauds Democrats as True Reflection of America, Criticizes GOP as “Restrictive Country Clubs” (VIDEO)

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy delivered his farewell address on the House floor, commending Democrats for their embodiment of America’s diversity while censuring his own party. Once holding the Speaker’s gavel, McCarthy saw his tenure end abruptly in October after a historic ousting due to his failed leadership.

Earlier this month, McCarthy announced that he is retiring from Congress at the end of the year.

“I have decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways. I know my work is only getting started,” McCarthy wrote in a Wall Street Journal.

“I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office. The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders.”

The California Republican was ousted in a 216-210 vote, initiated by a motion from Rep. Matt Gaetz. This humiliating end to his speakership made McCarthy the “shortest serving speaker since 1876,” and as noted by The Guardian, “the first speaker of the House forced out of the job in U.S. history.”

In his farewell address, McCarthy contrasted the diversity of the Democrats with the homogeneity of the Republicans when he became minority leader. He noted that the Democrats resembled America’s diverse fabric, while the Republicans seemed like a “restrictive country club.”

“I had got elected minority leader while another colleague from my state, Nancy Pelosi, got elected speaker. I watched the Democrats stand up, and they were very diverse. They looked like America. I watched us stand up. We had lost the majority.”

“I quote and say we look like one of the most restrictive country clubs in America. I thought at that moment I could be the leader of a declining party, or I can focus on what I know brought me to this party, conceived in liberty, dedicated the proposition that we are all equal. And I would take that message to places people didn’t think they would vote for a Republican.”

WATCH:

JUST IN: @SpeakerMcCarthy says bye-bye, discloses that when he became Speaker, the Democrats looked like America while the Republicans looked like a declining club with the same faces. But says he changed some of that. What do you think? Is the GOP not welcoming all Americans? pic.twitter.com/5lDnEZaiNu

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) December 14, 2023

This is not the first time McCarthy criticized his own party. During an address at Oxford University in the UK on October 28th, three weeks after he was ousted as Speaker of the House, McCarthy said the same sentiment, “When you look at the Democrats, they actually look like America. When I look at my party, we look like the most restrictive country club in America.”

Kevin McCarthy: “When you look at the Democrats, they actually look like America. When I look at my party, we look like the most restrictive country club in America.” pic.twitter.com/UFJTmTY75c

— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) December 7, 2023