Kevin McCarthy Makes It Official: He’s Running for Speaker

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made it clear on Wednesday that he wants to be the next Speaker of the House if Republicans retain control after the November midterm elections.

“I do not want to see Nancy to come back as speaker. I want the next speaker to come from California, but I don’t want it to be Nancy. I want it to be me,” McCarthy told Turning Point USA’s High School Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., as reported by the Washington Examiner.

McCarthy is currently second-in-command in the Republican caucus in the House. His position is traditionally a stepping stone to the Speaker’s job, and current Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently announced his retirement from Congress at the end of the term.

However, there may be other candidates. Last month, Freedom Caucus founder Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on the Curt Schilling Show: “If and when there is a Speaker’s race, I plan on being part of that discussion.”

Jordan has been considered a potential Speaker ever since 2011, when he led conservative opposition to the Budget Control Act, a temporary fix to the debt ceiling crisis was steered through a contentious debate in Congress by then-Speaker John Boehner.

McCarthy was considered a potential candidate when Boehner retired in 2015. However, he withdrew his name from consideration after conservatives complained he was too moderate. Then-candidate Donald Trump said Republicans needed someone “tougher.”

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