'No shame, no care': Kevin McCarthy faces backlash for labeling George Santos' expulsion 'mistake'

WASHINGTON, DC: Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, due to retire from Congress at the end of the year, opines that the expulsion of George Santos from the House of Representatives was an error.

McCarthy, who was not present during Santos’s expulsion and did not cast a vote, would have preferred a different punishment for Santos, according to a report by the New York Post.

McCarty said, “I would have leaned to some other punishment for him.”

The California Republican believes that Santos should have been allowed to "have his day in court" before the House of Representatives took any action.

McCarthy suggested that a censure, similar to the one issued to Rep Jamaal Bowman for illegally pulling a fire alarm in the House, would have been more fitting.

What did former Speaker McCarthy reveal on his farewell media tour?

During his farewell media tour, the former House Speaker shared that he received congratulatory calls and messages from world leaders and high-powered CEOs.

However, he has not yet heard from his replacement, the current House Speaker Mike Johnson.

“He hasn’t called for advice,” McCarthy shared. “I wrote a note for whoever became speaker and left it there with some advice."

“He was at the table with me a long time, he knows what to do,” McCarthy added.

Although the contents of the note were not disclosed, the former Speaker expressed his willingness to help Johnson succeed in any way he can.

“My job is to help him be successful in any way I can,” McCarthy said.

Representative Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican congressman, has been the subject of an ongoing sex-trafficking investigation by the House Ethics Committee overseen by the former House Speaker since 2021.

Despite the passage of time, the probe remains active, and the committee recently called a new witness for an interview, as reported by CNN.

This development has caused outgoing Speaker McCarthy to become more vocal in his criticism of Gaetz, with McCarthy warning that the Ethics Committee would not be as lenient as the Department of Justice, which, after a yearslong investigation, opted not to bring charges against Gaetz in February.

Given the Ethics Committee's recent actions, it appears that the investigation into Gaetz's activities will continue into 2024.

In a recent statement, McCarthy said about Rep Gaetz, “He doesn’t want whatever’s in that ethics complaint to come forward.”

McCarthy attributed Gaetz's animosity towards him to a misguided belief that he was responsible for initiating the investigation, adding that Gaetz was willing to jeopardize Congress to prevent its disclosure.

As per McCarthy, the severity of Rep Gaetz’s issue seems to exceed whatever Santos had done, saying, “He’s willing to destroy the Congress if that’s what it takes. So it must be something very serious and it seems much more serious than whatever Santos (did).”

McCarthy further opined that the Ethics Committee may uncover evidence of criminal conduct in the absence of any deal with Speaker Johnson to conceal the matter.

In response to McCarthy's statement, Rep Gaetz extended his "thoughts and prayers" to the former congressman.

McCarthy also stated that he has no regrets about how his final months in Congress played out.

The outgoing House Speaker has expressed his confidence that former president Trump will be reinstated in the White House next year, and that Republicans will be able to expand their majority in the House of Representatives.

McCarthy spoke of his familiarity with President Biden and noted that the current president is not the same person he worked alongside as Vice President. In his comments, McCarthy suggested that, in a business context, Biden would not be a viable candidate for the presidency.

“Joe Biden is not the same Joe Biden I knew and worked with when he was vice president,” McCarthy shared with the outlet. “And if we treated this as a company or anything else, he would not be in the running to be our president.”

Despite rumors that he may be joining Elon Musk's team, McCarthy has indicated that he is more likely to pursue opportunities in the business world and expressed his eagerness to look forward to seeing what opportunities come his way in the future.

“My background has always been in business. I’ve got an MBA and I love entrepreneurship, so I’ll probably do something in the business world,” McCarthy said.

Internet mocks outgoing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy

People on X picked up on former House Speaker McCarthy's comments regarding the December 1 expulsion of former Republican representative George Santos and scrutinized him for his opinion of the disgraced Long Island congressman guilty of fraudulent actions.

One X user said: "This dude will never go AWAY!"

Another user remarked: "Too late, apology accepted."

Another user wrote: "Hell of a time to think of that now."

One user tweeted: "This RINO in Republican clothing couldn’t stand up for Santos when he was under fire. We can tell where you Loyalty is, quit while you leave the House with barely a voting Majority. Sour Grapes I guess."

Another user stated: "No wonder republicans will lose every election. No shame, no care for the American people."

Finally, this X user remarked: "This is why Republicans fail They are so busy attacking each other It leaves no time to do their F*&KING JOBS."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.