Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy
Official portrait, 2023
Kevin McCarthy
Born	Kevin Owen McCarthy 26 1, 1965
Birthplace	Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician
Known for	55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Education	California State University, Bakersfield (B.S., M.B.A.)

Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January to October 2023, making his tenure the third-shortest of any speaker in the history of the institution. A member of the Republican Party, McCarthy represented portions of California's Central Valley in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 until his resignation in December 2023. Over the course of his congressional career, he held a succession of leadership positions — chief deputy whip, majority whip, majority leader, and minority leader — before ascending to the speakership following a historic 15-ballot election in January 2023. His removal from the speakership by a motion to vacate on October 3, 2023, made him the first speaker ever ousted from the role during a legislative session. Since leaving Congress, McCarthy has remained active in Republican politics as a commentator and political strategist, appearing frequently on news programs and involving himself in policy debates including California redistricting efforts.

Early Life

Kevin Owen McCarthy was born on January 26, 1965, in Bakersfield, California. He grew up in the Bakersfield area, a predominantly conservative region in California's Central Valley that would later form the core of his congressional district. McCarthy's roots in Kern County would prove central to his political identity, as he built his career representing the agricultural and energy-producing communities of the region.

As a young man, McCarthy won a lottery jackpot, and he used a portion of his winnings to invest in a small deli business. This early entrepreneurial experience informed his interest in business and economics, which he pursued through his subsequent education.

Education

McCarthy attended California State University, Bakersfield, where he earned both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Business Administration. His education at the Bakersfield campus of the California State University system grounded him in the local community where he would launch his political career. At the time he was first considered for the speakership in 2015, commentators at The Washington Post noted that McCarthy would have been among the least experienced speakers in terms of formal credentials since the late nineteenth century.

Career

California State Assembly

Before entering federal politics, McCarthy served two terms as a member of the California State Assembly, representing the Bakersfield area. His time in the state legislature provided him with foundational legislative experience and helped establish his network within the California Republican Party. His service in Sacramento preceded his successful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

U.S. House of Representatives: Early Years and Rise Through Leadership

McCarthy was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006, representing California's 22nd congressional district. He served this district from 2007 to 2013, after which redistricting shifted his constituency to California's 23rd congressional district, which he represented from 2013 to 2023. In his final year in Congress, following further redistricting, he represented California's 20th congressional district.

McCarthy's ascent through the ranks of House Republican leadership was notably rapid. In January 2009, he was appointed House Republican chief deputy whip under Minority Whip John Boehner, succeeding Eric Cantor in the role. He served in this capacity until January 2011.

Following the Republican wave in the 2010 midterm elections, which restored the party to the majority in the House, McCarthy was elevated to the position of House Majority Whip in January 2011, serving under Speaker John Boehner. As whip, McCarthy was responsible for marshaling votes among Republican members and ensuring party discipline on key legislation. He held this position until August 2014.

McCarthy was part of a group of younger Republican members known as the "Young Guns," along with Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan, who sought to rebrand and energize the Republican Party's image and policy agenda.

House Majority Leader

When House Majority Leader Eric Cantor suffered a shocking primary defeat in June 2014 — one of the most unexpected election results in modern congressional history — McCarthy emerged as the frontrunner to succeed him. Other potential candidates, including Pete Sessions, withdrew from consideration. McCarthy was elected House Majority Leader on August 1, 2014, and served in the role under Speaker John Boehner and subsequently under Speaker Paul Ryan.

As majority leader, McCarthy was the second-ranking Republican in the House and was responsible for setting the legislative agenda and managing floor proceedings. He assembled a staff team that included policy advisors with experience in areas such as tax policy and economic regulation.

2015 Speaker's Race

In September 2015, Speaker John Boehner announced his intention to resign from the speakership and from Congress, citing persistent conflicts with the conservative wing of the Republican conference. As majority leader, McCarthy was widely viewed as the heir apparent and announced his candidacy for the speakership.

However, McCarthy's candidacy was complicated by a September 2015 appearance on Fox News, during which he appeared to link the House Select Committee on Benghazi to a decline in Hillary Clinton's poll numbers, stating: "Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping." The remarks drew significant criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans, as they appeared to suggest that the Benghazi investigation — which Republicans had characterized as a fact-finding effort — was in fact politically motivated.

In October 2015, McCarthy abruptly withdrew from the speaker's race, surprising many of his colleagues. He cited his inability to unite the Republican conference as a reason for stepping aside. Paul Ryan was ultimately elected speaker, and McCarthy continued to serve as majority leader.

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

As majority leader, McCarthy played a role in advancing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the signature legislative achievement of the Trump administration's first year. The bill, which overhauled the federal tax code by reducing corporate and individual tax rates, passed the House in December 2017. President Donald Trump signed the legislation into law shortly thereafter.

House Minority Leader

When the Democrats regained control of the House following the 2018 midterm elections and Paul Ryan retired from Congress, McCarthy was elected House Minority Leader in January 2019, succeeding Nancy Pelosi as leader of the Republican conference (Pelosi having resumed the speakership). As minority leader, McCarthy served as the principal Republican opposition leader in the lower chamber, working to recruit candidates and raise funds for the party's effort to reclaim the majority.

McCarthy's tenure as minority leader was marked by the turbulent political dynamics surrounding the presidency of Donald Trump. After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, McCarthy supported Trump's claims of election fraud and participated in efforts to challenge the results. Following the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, during the congressional certification of electoral votes, McCarthy initially reversed course and attributed responsibility for the riot to Trump. However, by 2022, McCarthy had publicly reconciled with Trump, a shift that reflected the former president's continued influence within the Republican Party.

McCarthy led House Republicans through the 2022 midterm elections. While Republicans regained the majority, their gains were narrower than many party strategists and forecasters had anticipated, resulting in a slim margin that would complicate McCarthy's path to the speakership and his subsequent ability to govern.

Constituent Relations

Throughout his time in Congress, McCarthy engaged with constituents in his Central Valley district through various formats, including town hall meetings. He held public town hall events where he addressed questions from local voters on a range of policy topics. At various points, constituents and activist groups called for additional such meetings or protested at events where McCarthy appeared.

Speaker of the House

Following the Republican victory in the 2022 midterm elections, McCarthy was nominated by the Republican conference as its candidate for speaker. However, when the 118th Congress convened in January 2023, a group of Republican holdouts — primarily from the party's conservative and populist wings — refused to support his candidacy. The result was an extended and historic series of ballots on the House floor. McCarthy failed to secure the speakership on the first ballot, and the voting continued over multiple days, ultimately requiring 15 separate ballots before McCarthy won the gavel on January 7, 2023. This was the most ballots required to elect a speaker since 1859 and represented one of the most dramatic intraparty leadership struggles in modern congressional history.

To secure the votes necessary for his election, McCarthy made a number of concessions to his conservative critics, including changes to House rules that would make it easier for a single member to bring a motion to vacate the chair — a procedural mechanism to force a vote on removing the speaker. This concession would prove consequential later in his tenure.

2023 Debt-Ceiling Crisis

One of the defining challenges of McCarthy's speakership was the 2023 debt-ceiling crisis. House Republicans, with McCarthy as speaker, engaged in a prolonged standoff with the Biden administration over the conditions for raising the federal debt limit. The impasse raised the prospect of the United States defaulting on its financial obligations for the first time in history. After weeks of negotiations, McCarthy and President Biden reached an agreement that resulted in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which suspended the debt ceiling while imposing certain spending limits. The legislation passed with bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and was signed into law by Biden.

Motion to Vacate and Removal

In late September 2023, the federal government again faced a potential shutdown as appropriations bills stalled. McCarthy chose to bring a bipartisan continuing resolution to the House floor, relying on Democratic votes to pass the measure and avert a government shutdown. While the move averted an immediate fiscal crisis, it provoked a backlash from some conservative members of his conference.

On October 3, 2023, Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida filed a motion to vacate the chair, triggering a vote on McCarthy's removal as speaker. The motion succeeded with the support of eight Republican members who joined all Democratic members in voting to remove McCarthy. The House floor debate that preceded the vote was largely unprecedented, as it pitted members of the majority party against their own speaker in open session.

McCarthy's removal made him the first speaker of the House in American history to be ousted during a legislative session. His tenure of approximately nine months was the third-shortest in the history of the speakership. Following his removal, McCarthy did not seek to reclaim the position. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was eventually elected as the 56th speaker.

Resignation from Congress

After being removed as speaker, McCarthy announced that he would resign from the House of Representatives. He formally left Congress at the end of 2023, concluding a 17-year career in the institution.

Post-Congressional Career

Since leaving Congress, McCarthy has remained a public figure in Republican politics. He has made regular appearances on news programs as a political commentator, offering analysis on topics including the state of the Democratic and Republican parties. In February 2026, he appeared on Fox News to discuss the future of the Democratic Party, critiquing figures such as California Governor Gavin Newsom.

McCarthy has also offered commentary on Democratic electoral strategies. In February 2026, he discussed the victory of a Democratic candidate in a Texas state Senate race, asserting that the winning candidate "looked like a Republican," suggesting that Democrats had adopted more moderate positioning to win in conservative-leaning districts.

In December 2025, McCarthy participated in a joint appearance with former Senator Joe Manchin on a C-SPAN program titled "Ceasefire," in which the two discussed bipartisan approaches to policy and efforts to bridge political divides.

In August 2025, Politico reported that McCarthy had been working behind the scenes to rally Republican opposition to California Democrats' redistricting efforts, demonstrating his continued involvement in party strategy at the state level.

Personal Life

McCarthy has been a lifelong resident of the Bakersfield, California area. He and his wife, Judy McCarthy, have two children. The family has maintained deep ties to the Kern County community, where McCarthy built his political career from his early days in the California State Assembly through his years in Congress.

McCarthy's connection to Bakersfield has been a recurring theme in his political identity. He has frequently referenced his roots in the Central Valley's agricultural and energy-producing economy when discussing policy positions on issues such as water rights, energy development, and rural economic concerns that are central to his former district.

Legacy

Kevin McCarthy's career in the U.S. House of Representatives spanned 17 years and encompassed a period of significant transformation within the Republican Party. His rapid rise through the leadership ranks — from freshman member to chief deputy whip, majority whip, majority leader, minority leader, and speaker — reflected his skill in building relationships and coalitions within the Republican conference.

McCarthy's speakership, though brief, was marked by two consequential episodes that illustrated the challenges of governing with a narrow majority in a deeply polarized political environment. The 15-ballot speaker's election in January 2023 demonstrated the degree to which a small group of dissenters could leverage procedural rules to extract concessions from party leadership. The subsequent motion to vacate in October 2023 — the first successful such motion in American history — established a precedent that future speakers and House leaders would need to consider.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, negotiated between McCarthy and the Biden administration, averted a potential default on the national debt and represented one of the few significant bipartisan legislative achievements of the 118th Congress. However, the bipartisan nature of that deal, along with the continuing resolution that averted a government shutdown, ultimately cost McCarthy the support of enough Republican members to end his speakership.

McCarthy's career trajectory also reflected broader dynamics within the Republican Party during the Trump era, including the tensions between traditional party leadership and a more populist, confrontational faction. His shifting positions regarding the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack and his subsequent reconciliation with Donald Trump mirrored the calculations made by numerous Republican officeholders during the same period.

His congressional record, as documented by the Library of Congress, includes participation in a wide range of legislative activities spanning economic policy, energy, agriculture, and national security during his years of service.