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. A member of the Republican Party, McCarthy represented portions of Kern County and the southern San Joaquin Valley in the U.S. House of Representatives for more than sixteen years, rising through the ranks of Republican leadership faster than nearly any of his contemporaries. His political career, rooted in the agricultural heartland of Bakersfield, California, carried him from the California State Assembly to the highest office in the legislative branch of the federal government — only for his speakership to end in a historic and unprecedented removal by members of his own party. McCarthy served as House Majority Whip from 2011 to 2014, House Majority Leader from 2014 to 2019, and House Minority Leader from 2019 to 2023 before winning the speakership after a protracted 15-ballot election in January 2023. He resigned from Congress at the end of 2023, following his removal as speaker.

Early Life

Kevin Owen McCarthy was born on January 26, 1965, in Bakersfield, California. He grew up in the Bakersfield area, which is located in Kern County in the southern portion of California's San Joaquin Valley. The region is known for its agricultural economy and oil production, and its political culture has historically been more conservative than that of the state's coastal urban centers.

McCarthy's interest in politics and public life developed early. He attended local schools in the Bakersfield area before enrolling at California State University, Bakersfield, where he would complete both his undergraduate and graduate studies. His upbringing in a working-class community in the Central Valley shaped the political identity he would carry into elected office, positioning himself as a representative of the rural and suburban constituencies that formed the backbone of his congressional district.

Before entering politics, McCarthy reportedly won a portion of a state lottery prize, which he used to start a small business — a deli — in Bakersfield. This entrepreneurial experience would later become a part of his political narrative, as he frequently cited his background as a small business owner in legislative discussions concerning economic policy and regulation.

Education

McCarthy earned his Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Bakersfield. He subsequently completed a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) at the same institution. His educational background at a regional campus of the California State University system distinguished him from many of his peers in congressional leadership, who more commonly held degrees from elite private universities or prestigious law schools. At the time of his candidacy for speaker in 2015, The Washington Post noted that McCarthy would have been among the least credentialed speakers in modern history in terms of his educational pedigree.

Career

California State Assembly

McCarthy began his career in elected office at the state level, serving two terms as a member of the California State Assembly. His time in the state legislature provided him with an introduction to the legislative process and helped him build a political network within Republican circles in California. His tenure in Sacramento was relatively brief, as he soon set his sights on a seat in the United States Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

McCarthy was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2006, representing California's 22nd congressional district. He took office in January 2007. Following redistricting after the 2010 census, he represented California's 23rd congressional district from 2013 to 2023. After further redistricting, he briefly represented California's 20th congressional district in 2023 before his resignation.

His congressional career was marked by a rapid ascent through the ranks of Republican Party leadership. McCarthy was affiliated with the "Young Guns" program, a Republican recruitment and fundraising initiative that also included Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan. The three lawmakers were seen as a new generation of Republican leaders who sought to modernize the party's image and policy agenda.

Rise Through Leadership

McCarthy's trajectory through the House Republican leadership hierarchy was swift. He served as Chief Deputy Whip from January 2009 to January 2011, succeeding Eric Cantor in that role and being succeeded by Peter Roskam. When Republicans won a majority in the House in the 2010 elections, McCarthy was elevated to House Majority Whip, serving in that capacity under Speaker John Boehner from January 2011 to August 2014.

McCarthy's role as whip required him to count votes and rally support for legislation within the Republican conference, a task that demanded considerable interpersonal skill. His amiable demeanor and ability to maintain relationships across the ideological spectrum of the Republican caucus were frequently noted by observers and colleagues. He built a reputation as a coalition-builder and fundraiser, traveling extensively to support Republican candidates in elections across the country.

House Majority Leader

After Eric Cantor suffered a stunning defeat in his 2014 Republican primary election — an unprecedented loss for a sitting majority leader — McCarthy moved quickly to secure the majority leader position. Pete Sessions initially considered entering the race but dropped out. McCarthy was elected by the House Republican Conference as House Majority Leader on August 1, 2014, succeeding Cantor.

As majority leader, McCarthy served under two speakers: John Boehner and Paul Ryan. He managed the day-to-day legislative agenda on the House floor and continued to serve as one of the party's principal fundraisers. During his tenure as majority leader, McCarthy was involved in shepherding key pieces of Republican legislation through the House, including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which passed the House in December 2017 before being signed into law by President Donald Trump.

2015 Speaker Bid

When Speaker John Boehner announced his resignation in September 2015, McCarthy was initially considered the frontrunner to succeed him. However, his candidacy was derailed in part by comments he made in a September 2015 television interview in which he appeared to link the House Select Committee on Benghazi to a decline in Hillary Clinton's poll numbers. McCarthy stated: "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 widespread criticism, as they appeared to confirm Democratic accusations that the Benghazi investigation was politically motivated rather than a genuine fact-finding effort. McCarthy subsequently withdrew from the speaker's race in October 2015, and Paul Ryan was eventually elected speaker instead.

House Minority Leader

Following the 2018 midterm elections, in which Republicans lost their House majority, and after Paul Ryan's retirement from Congress, McCarthy was elected House Minority Leader in January 2019. He served as the leader of the House Republican Conference throughout the 116th and 117th Congresses.

As Minority Leader, McCarthy's relationship with President Donald Trump became a central feature of his political profile. After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, McCarthy supported Trump's claims of election fraud and initially participated in efforts to challenge the certification of the results. Following the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, during the electoral vote count, McCarthy reversed his previous comments on voter fraud and publicly blamed Trump for the riot. However, by 2022, McCarthy had publicly reconciled with Trump, visiting him at Mar-a-Lago and reaffirming their political alliance.

McCarthy led the House Republicans through the 2022 midterm elections, in which the party regained control of the House but with a narrower-than-expected majority. The slim margins would prove consequential for McCarthy's ability to govern as speaker.

Speakership

Historic 15-Ballot Election

When the 118th United States Congress convened in January 2023, McCarthy was the Republican nominee for Speaker of the House. However, a group of conservative Republican holdouts refused to support his candidacy on the initial ballot, denying him the majority needed for election. What followed was a prolonged and historic series of votes — 15 ballots over several days — the first time since 1859 that a speaker election had required more than one ballot.

McCarthy secured the speakership on January 7, 2023, only after extensive negotiations with conservative members of his conference, during which he agreed to a series of concessions, including a rule change that would allow a single member to force a vote on removing the speaker — a procedural mechanism known as a motion to vacate the chair. He succeeded Nancy Pelosi as speaker.

Debt Ceiling Crisis

One of the most significant challenges of McCarthy's speakership was a standoff between the House Republican conference and the Biden administration over raising the federal debt ceiling. The confrontation escalated into the 2023 United States debt-ceiling crisis, which threatened to result in the first-ever default on United States government obligations. After weeks of negotiations, the parties reached an agreement in the form of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which suspended the debt ceiling while imposing certain spending constraints. The legislation passed with bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and was signed into law by President Biden.

The passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act required McCarthy to rely on Democratic votes to supplement support from moderate Republicans, a dynamic that frustrated conservative members of his conference who had sought deeper spending cuts.

Removal as Speaker

In September 2023, McCarthy again turned to bipartisan support, working with Democrats to pass a continuing resolution that averted a government shutdown. The move provoked a direct challenge from Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, who filed a motion to vacate the chair — the procedural tool that McCarthy had agreed to empower during his speaker election negotiations.

On October 3, 2023, following a largely unprecedented floor debate in which members of the majority party openly debated the removal of their own speaker, the House voted to vacate the chair. McCarthy was removed as speaker, becoming the first speaker in American history to be ousted during a legislative session. His tenure of approximately nine months was the third-shortest for any speaker of the House.

McCarthy did not seek the speakership again in the subsequent election. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was eventually elected as his successor.

Resignation from Congress

Following his removal as speaker, McCarthy announced that he would resign from the House of Representatives. He formally left Congress at the end of 2023, concluding a career in the House that had spanned more than sixteen years.

Post-Congressional Career

After leaving Congress, McCarthy has remained active in Republican political circles and as a media commentator. He has appeared on Fox News and other outlets to offer political analysis and commentary on national affairs. In December 2025, he appeared alongside former Senator Joe Manchin on C-SPAN to discuss bipartisan cooperation and political polarization.

In 2025, McCarthy was reported to be working behind the scenes to organize Republican opposition to redistricting efforts by California Democrats, maintaining an active role in state and national Republican politics. He has also offered public commentary on Democratic electoral strategy, noting after a 2026 Texas special election that the winning Democratic candidate had adopted messaging and positions that "looked like a Republican."

Personal Life

McCarthy has been a longtime resident of Bakersfield, California, where he has maintained his home and family throughout his political career. His roots in the community are deep, and he has been known for his connections to the local business and civic communities in Kern County.

McCarthy's district was known for its agricultural output and energy production, and constituents in the region periodically called for more direct engagement from their representative. Local media reported on instances in which voters organized to request town hall meetings with McCarthy. McCarthy held public events in his district, including a town hall meeting broadcast on C-SPAN. During the political tensions of 2017, protesters gathered outside a hotel where McCarthy was scheduled to speak at a Republican dinner event.

Legacy

Kevin McCarthy's political career is defined by both his rapid rise through House Republican leadership and the historic nature of his removal from the speakership. His ascent from a state assembly member to Speaker of the House illustrated the importance of coalition-building, fundraising, and interpersonal relationships in the internal politics of the U.S. Congress. As a member of the "Young Guns" generation alongside Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan, McCarthy was part of a cohort that reshaped the Republican Party's approach to recruitment, messaging, and legislative strategy during the Obama and Trump eras.

His speakership, though brief, encompassed significant legislative and institutional events. The resolution of the 2023 debt-ceiling crisis through the Fiscal Responsibility Act demonstrated McCarthy's willingness to pursue bipartisan compromise under extraordinary pressure, even as that approach ultimately contributed to his removal. The 15-ballot speaker election in January 2023 and the October 2023 motion to vacate were both historic firsts that underscored the challenges of governing with a narrow majority and a deeply divided conference.

McCarthy's ouster as speaker set a precedent in American legislative history. He was the first speaker to be removed from the position through a motion to vacate during a legislative session, an event that prompted broader discussions about the stability of House leadership and the power of small factions within legislative bodies to shape or obstruct governance. The concessions he made during his speaker election — particularly the single-member threshold for triggering a motion to vacate — became a subject of study and debate among political scientists and congressional observers.

His congressional record is documented in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress and through his legislative activity tracked by Congress.gov.