Kinzinger: McCarthy won’t ‘last very long’ if elected Speaker

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) predicted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) won’t “last very long” if he becomes Speaker when Republicans take control of the lower chamber in January.

“I think he has cut so many deals with bad people to get to this position that I think he’s not going to be a leader at all,” Kinzinger told co-anchor Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.” 

“I think he will be completely hostage to kind of the extreme wings of the Republican Party,” Kinzinger continued. “And I, frankly, don’t think he’s going to last very long. Maybe he will prove me wrong. But it’s sad to see a man that I think had so much potential just totally sell himself.”

Kinzinger, one of two Republicans serving on the House panel investigating Jan. 6, 2021, has frequently criticized McCarthy for his support of former President Trump and his allies, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Kinzinger will leave Congress at the end of the term after deciding to retire.

House Republicans handily elected McCarthy as their nominee for Speaker in a closed-door meeting last week.

But 31 Republicans opposed McCarthy’s bid, signaling he lacked the support to seize the gavel when the full House votes to choose the Speaker in January. 

McCarthy will need a majority of the full House in that vote, meaning the GOP’s narrow control of the chamber would only allow for a few Republican detractors before McCarthy falls below the threshold.

His opposition has largely come from the Freedom Caucus, whose members are seeking concessions from McCarthy and changes to conference rules.

Kinzinger on Sunday suggested McCarthy will have a difficult time garnering enough unity to pass some priorities, including a government funding bill, if he does shore up the necessary support to be Speaker.

“I have done this business for a while,” Kinzinger said on CNN. “And I will tell you, they’re just the ‘hope yes, vote no’ caucus. They vote no on everything, or now they’re only going to vote for the most conservative stuff.“