Rep. McCarthy discusses possibility of becoming House Speaker

On Sunday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, said he sees an “opportunity” to become the Speaker of the House if Republicans are able to grab control of the chamber in the upcoming midterm elections.

When asked if he will be the House Speaker, McCarthy emphasized to Fox News chief Washington correspondent Mike Emanuel during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” that the primary concern is taking back the House. 

“That’s an opportunity. The first and foremost responsibility is to take that House back. But we’ll be prepared to govern,” McCarthy commented.

The GOP only needs to flip five seats in the midterm November elections in order to gain a majority in the chamber. So far, McCarthy has been confident in the party’s ability to take control, recently saying to a crowd that he thinks that Republicans will be able to take a majority larger than just five seats.

“We’re going to win the majority, and it’s not going to be a five-seat majority,” he told Punchbowl News in an interview. 

His positive outlook corresponds with the context as Republicans seem to be in a good position to take control of the House. Democrats are facing an uphill battle to stay in control of both chambers of Congress as margins remain thin and President Joe Biden has been seeing consistently low approval ratings.  

When asked by Emanuel if Republicans are overestimating the possibility of taking over ahead of November, McCarthy responded by saying, “no, we’re confident,” referencing Biden’s low and decreasing approval rating, staggering inflation, and upticks in crime.

He added, “Americans want, need, and deserve” a “clear, commonsense alternative. And that’s what’s happening with the House Republicans.”

McCarthy went on to say, “We will provide to the American public a commitment to America. One that could stop this runaway spending that causes inflation, then we’re able to become energy independent, not dependent on Russia or any other country for our energy. And lower the price of fuel. We will make our streets, our schools safe again. We will secure our border to stop this immigration crisis, but more importantly, to stop the fentanyl that is coming into America.”