McCarthy jibe about hitting Pelosi with gavel resurface after speaker vote

Newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy joked two years ago that he would be tempted to hit Nancy Pelosi with the gavel if he was elected to succeed her.

Now, McCarthy’s jibe has resurfaced this week after the California Republican finally secured enough votes to become the next House speaker after the 15th ballot was cast. Six Republicans who were opposed to his speakership voted “present,” which lowered the threshold needed for a majority.

Meanwhile, some social media users pointed to McCarthy’s comments, which were made in July 2021 and were criticized by some Democrats at the time, including new House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

“I want you to watch Nancy Pelosi hand me that gavel. It will be hard not to hit her with it,” McCarthy said in an audio shared to Twitter at the time by reporter Vivian Jones for Main Street Nashville.

At the time, McCarthy was discussing the 2022 midterm elections, which were then more than a year away, and the possibility that he would succeed Pelosi as House speaker.

Journalist Aaron Rupar shared a CNN article about McCarthy’s remarks to Twitter early Saturday morning and wrote: “This hasn’t happened yet, thankfully.”

Cheryl Bolen Smelson, former White House correspondent for Bloomberg BNA, shared the same article on Saturday on Twitter, writing: “I’m just grateful ⁦@SpeakerMcCarthy was able to restrain himself last night.”

In addition, McCarthy’s 2021 comments had drawn some attention during the earlier rounds of voting for House speaker, with Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, sharing CNN’s article to Twitter on Wednesday.

“This aged well…” the Democratic lawmaker said in an apparent reference to McCarthy’s difficulty in securing the speakership.

McCarthy was elected on the 15th ballot in a process that began on Tuesday and lasted for four days due to opposition from a minority within the Republican conference. Though there was some hope that he would win on the 14th ballot, he finally succeeded in the 15th vote late on Friday and received the speaker’s gavel early Saturday morning.

No speaker has failed to win election in the first ballot since 1923. This year’s contest was the longest since 1859 when 44 ballots were cast before a House speaker was chosen.

In July 2021, Swalwell had called for McCarthy to resign over his comments about Pelosi and the speaker’s gavel.

“America has suffered enough violence around politics. @GOPLeader McCarthy is now a would-be assailant of @SpeakerPelosi. He needs to resign,” Swalwell tweeted.

Jeffries was also among those who criticized McCarthy for his remarks.

“Violence against women is no laughing matter. Apologize,” Jeffries tweeted at the time.

Ultimately, it was Jeffries and not Pelosi who handed the speaker’s gavel to McCarthy early Saturday morning. This past November, Pelosi announced that she would step down from her position as the top Democrat in the chamber, following through with the four-year term limit she set for herself the last time she was elected to the post.

The final vote saw McCarthy win support from 216 House Republicans, while all 212 House Democrats voted for Jeffries.

McCarthy took to Twitter and shared a video of the speech he delivered to the House after he was elected speaker. “I hope one thing is clear after this week: I will never give up. And I will never give up for you, the American people,” he tweeted.

Newsweek has asked McCarthy’s office for comment.