House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is pledging to secure the border, cut government spending and launch tough investigations into the Biden administration if Republicans win the House on Tuesday, reflecting a mix of priorities as McCarthy faces an increasingly and harder line and pro-Trump conference itching to impeach President Joe Biden.
In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with CNN two days before the midterm elections, McCarthy outlined his plans for office, which include tackling inflation, rising crime and border security — three issues that have become central to Republicans. To hammer home that message, McCarthy — who has taken the country by storm ahead of the midterms — rallied here Sunday for a trio of Hispanic women vying to represent key districts along the southern border, a key part of the party’s strategy. to win the majority.
“The first thing you’re going to see is a border control bill first,” McCarthy told CNN when asked for details on his party’s immigration plans. “You have to get control of the border. You’ve had nearly 2 million people to meet this year alone.”
The Biden administration continues to rely on a Trump-era emergency rule known as Title 42 that allows border officials to turn away migrants at the US-Mexico border. In fiscal year 2022, amid mass migration to the Western Hemisphere, US border encounters topped 2 million, according to data from US Customs and Border Protection. Of those, more than 1 million were rejected under Title 42.
But McCarthy also highlighted oversight and investigations as a key priority for a GOP-led House, citing potential probes into the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic and how the administration handled the parent and school board meetings. And he left the door open to possible impeachment proceedings, which some of his members have already begun to call for.
“We will never use impeachment for political purposes,” McCarthy said. “That doesn’t mean that if something is up to the occasion, it won’t be used at any other time.”
And with the MAGA wing calling to cut off funding to Ukraine and GOP defense hawks vowing not to abandon the country amid war with Russia, McCarthy sought to reaffirm his support for Ukraine, saying he would not automatically sign any additional requests for help.
“I’m very supportive of Ukraine,” McCarthy said. “I think there should be accountability in the future. … You always need, not a blank check, but make sure the resources are going where they are needed. And make sure that Congress and the Senate have an opportunity to discuss it openly.”
McCarthy declined to say how many seats he thought Republicans would pick up on Tuesday, but said he was confident “it will be at least enough to win a majority.” McCarthy said that, in his eyes, “anywhere over 20 is a red wave.”
And McCarthy, who was forced out of the speaker’s race in 2015 amid opposition from the far-right House Freedom Caucus, told CNN he believes he will have the support this time to secure the coveted speaker’s gavel — both from his conference as well as former President Donald Trump.
“I would think we will have the votes for speaker, yes,” McCarthy said. “I think Trump will be very supportive.”
On the influx of immigrants at the border, McCarthy said “there are a lot of different ways” his majority would address the problem, but said Republicans won’t put in place a bill to fix the broken immigration system until the border is secure.
“I think ‘Stay in Mexico’ should have it right away,” he said, referring to the controversial policy where immigrants were forced to remain in Mexico while awaiting immigration proceedings in the United States.
To help stem the flow of fentanyl coming across the border, McCarthy said “first you make a very frontal attack on China to stop the poison from coming” and then “provide the resources that border agents need” and “make sure that fentanyl Whenever anyone wants to move it, you can prosecute them for the death penalty.”
When pressed for specific plans to fight crime, McCarthy said Republicans would fund the police, provide grants for recruitment and training and look at how crimes are prosecuted. And to lower inflation and gas prices, he said they would cut government spending and make America more energy independent, though he did not name specific bills.
Most of the bills will mostly be messaging efforts, unlikely to overcome a presidential veto or the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, though they should pass legislation to fund the government and raise the national borrowing limit sometime next year . McCarthy, however, has indicated that Republicans will demand spending cuts in exchange for lifting the debt ceiling, setting off a dangerous fiscal showdown that could lead to a catastrophic default.
“If you’re going to give a person a higher limit, wouldn’t you first say you need to change your behavior so you don’t just keep increasing over and over?” he said. “You shouldn’t just say, ‘Oh, I’ll let you keep spending money.’ No household should have to do this.”
McCarthy acknowledged that Republicans were willing to raise the debt ceiling under Trump, but said the calculus is different now because Democrats spent trillions of dollars under Biden.
When pressed on whether he’s willing to risk a default by using the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip, McCarthy insisted that won’t happen: “People talk about the risk. You don’t risk a bankruptcy.”
In addition to working to regain the majority, McCarthy has also campaigned to win the speaker’s gavel. And a key part of that strategy has been to elevate potential Trump critics and controversial allies.
To that end, McCarthy has promised to reinstate freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia to her committees, despite being stripped of assignments by Democrats last year for her inflammatory comments.
Meanwhile, McCarthy reiterated his plans to remove Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., from his seat on the House Intelligence Committee.
Asked if he has any restrictions on what committees Green can serve on, McCarthy – who will have a direct say in carrying out those assignments – said no. Greene has previously told CNN she wants a seat on the House Oversight Committee, which would play a key role in the GOP-led majority investigations.
“He will have committees to serve on, just like any other member… Members are asking for different committees and as we go through the steering committee, we will look at that,” he said. “He can submit the committees he wants, just like any other member of our congress who is elected.”
Green isn’t the only member to spew conspiracy theories or inflammatory rhetoric. More recently, some Republicans have mocked the brutal attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, or floated fringe conspiracy theories about the incident.
Asked for his message to those Republicans, McCarthy said, “What happened to Paul Pelosi is wrong, and I think we shouldn’t get into that rhetoric.”
But when pressed on how he would curb that kind of rhetoric, McCarthy pointed the finger at Democrats.
“The first thing I’m going to ask the president to do is not call half the nation idiots or say things about them because they have a difference of opinion,” he said. “I think leadership matters and I think it probably starts with the president. And it will start with the speaker as well.”
Asked again how he would handle members of his own party who spread dangerous conspiracy theories, McCarthy replied: “I’ve watched people on both sides of the aisle,” he said. “If I am the speaker, I will be the speaker of the entire Parliament. So it won’t just be about Republicans. We will also examine the Democrats.”
