Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) took aim at his successor, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), on Thursday, accusing him of squandering the Republican majority by sending lawmakers home early last month. In an interview on Fox News’s “Hannity,” McCarthy urged Johnson to “stop recessing” and warned that failure to advance key bills could hurt the party in the November elections.
“You have the majority in the House right now. Stop recessing,” McCarthy told GOP consultant Kellyanne Conway. “Show the American public what you are by passing the legislation that you believe in. You can’t sit back and say the Democrats are socialists and they can’t do it. You gotta be able to show them what you’re able to achieve.”
Johnson sent the House home early for the second consecutive week in late June as internal GOP divisions stalled the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, a voting bill requiring additional identification for voter registration and in-person voting. Democrats have warned the measure could disenfranchise millions of voters. The House is set to return from recess on Monday.
The standoff has frustrated many House Republicans, who see the delays as a strategic blunder. Hardliners like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) have vowed to block votes on the Defense spending bill and other priorities until the SAVE America Act passes. But centrists such as Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) called the tactic “dumb,” saying it “weakens House GOP, and no one is more thrilled than Jeffries.”
The impasse has also delayed action on a Defense spending bill, renewal of warrantless surveillance powers, and other government funding legislation. Former President Donald Trump has made the SAVE Act his top legislative priority, warning in a Truth Social post that its “non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!” Trump also said he would not sign a bipartisan housing bill “in PROTEST” over the stalemate.
McCarthy, who was ousted as speaker last year, offered blunt advice for Johnson: “Pass the legislation day in and day out between now and the election and show them what you believe in.” The former speaker’s comments come as the GOP majority remains razor-thin, with internal divisions threatening to undermine legislative progress ahead of the midterms.
The internal GOP rift echoes broader challenges facing the party, as seen in the House GOP rebellion that derailed the NDAA over voter ID demands, further stalling Johnson’s agenda. Meanwhile, a separate Supreme Court ruling on women’s sports leaves gaps for states like California, adding to the policy battles Republicans must navigate.
