McCarthy says Mace needs help ‘to straighten out her life’

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) went after Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) during a Capitol Hill visit on Tuesday, saying she needs to “straighten out her life.”

Mace, one of the eight GOP members who voted to oust McCarthy as Speaker last year, is facing a tough primary challenge from her former chief of staff and reportedly suffers from an office staff in turmoil.

“I hope Nancy gets the help she needs, I really do,” McCarthy told reporters. “I just hope she gets the help to straighten out her life. I mean, she’s got a lot of challenges.” 

“No one will stay working for her,” he continued. “You can’t have somebody who just flips and flops based upon what TV station she gets put on. You want someone who’s willing to work, and so I hope she gets that kind of help.”

McCarthy resigned from the House in December after losing the Speakership in October. He said he plans to campaign for GOP candidates in the 2024 cycle.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) gives remarks during a ceremony in Statuary Hall of the Capitol to honor U.S. Capitol Historical Society 2023 Freedom Award recipient Clerk of the House Cheryl Johnson on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. (Greg Nash)

Despite saying he’s not rooting against Mace, he did not rule out backing challengers to incumbent Republicans, including Mace.

“I didn’t say that,” McCarthy jokingly said when asked about staying out of her primary.

McCarthy also made jabs at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the GOP opposition to his Speakership. 

“He probably lies about who he sleeps with,” McCarthy said, adding that Gaetz and former President Trump aren’t as close as Gaetz leads people to believe.

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McCarthy added that he “doesn’t feel much for” his eight opponents, and that he doesn’t “respect” Gaetz.

Gaetz fired back at McCarthy in a response emailed to The Hill.

“The ghost of Christmas past visited us here in the halls of the Capitol and Kevin McCarthy apparently said that I wasn’t as well liked by President Trump as I thought, but I recall President Trump asking me to go campaign for him in Iowa and New Hampshire,” Gaetz said. “And there’s a reason President Trump hasn’t asked Kevin McCarthy to go campaign for him anywhere. It’s because on almost any stage in the Trump campaign, Kevin McCarthy would be booed off of it.”

Gaetz and the former Speaker have gone back and forth for months. Last week, Gaetz jokingly floated McCarthy’s name as a candidate to chair the Republican National Committee (RNC). McCarthy said he quickly shut down that notion.

The Hill has reached out to Mace’s office for comment.

Mychael Schnell contributed.

This story was updated at 3:55 p.m.