Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) used what could be her last floor speech as House speaker to slam her possible replacement, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), after he said the omnibus spending bill was “one of the most shameful acts [he’s] ever seen in this body.”
Pelosi, who previously announced she was stepping down as leader of the House Democrats, responded to the GOP congressman’s comments that the bill — a $1.7 trillion measure to fund the federal government through September — was a “monstrosity.” McCarthy gave a roughly 25-minute address railing against what he called “left-wing pet projects” funded by the bill.
“It is one of the most shameful acts I’ve ever seen in his body,” said McCarthy, who is seeking to become speaker as Republicans take the House majority next year.
“The appropriations process has failed the American public, and there’s no greater example of the nail in the coffin of the greatest failure of a one-party rule of the House, the Senate and the presidency.”
Pelosi, in what she said may be her last speech as speaker on the House floor, said McCarthy’s remarks were “sad to hear.”
“I can’t help but wonder, had he forgotten January 6?” Pelosi asked.
It’s unclear whether McCarthy had temporarily forgotten about the deadly insurrection last year, but the House Jan. 6 committee certainly didn’t forget about McCarthy.
The panel referred McCarthy and other House Republicans to the House Ethics Committee after they failed to comply with its subpoenas over the course of its investigation into the events surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
It appears unlikely that the committee will act on the referrals, though, as Republicans will take over the chamber on Jan. 3, and the most severe potential action, expulsion from the House, requires a two-thirds majority vote, Bloomberg reported.