Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ripped Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) in an interview Thursday, saying he doesn’t think she has earned the right to be reelected to her post.
In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Manu Raju, McCarthy predicted Mace would not get reelected. He stressed, however, that it would not be because of her vote to oust him from his former post as Speaker.
“If you’ve watched, just her philosophy and the flip-flopping, I don’t believe she wins reelection,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think she’ll probably have earned the right to get reelected.”
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CNN reported that McCarthy, in the full interview, seemed particularly taken aback that Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) were among the eight Republicans who joined Democrats in ousting him from his post just over one month ago.
“It just didn’t — it seemed out of nature. But they seem to had changed during their time,” McCarthy said when asked why he was particularly surprised by their votes. “They care a lot about press, not about policy. So they seem to just want the press, the personality.”
McCarthy was removed Oct. 3, launching a three-week process to find a replacement that stalled all movement on the House floor for any piece of legislation. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) ended up winning the Speaker’s gavel.
Mace told CNN in response to the interview that McCarthy “lied all the time.”
Burchett called McCarthy “bitter” in comments to CNN in response to the interview.
The Hill reached out to both Mace’s and Burchett’s offices for further comment.