McCarthy faces tough road if GOP wins House majority

Let me say that as I looked at the very, very narrow returns in the House and the likelihood that the Republicans are going to end up at something like 221 seats, which is a pretty small majority. Remember there are 435 members of the House, so at 221, that means the Democrats would be at 214. That would mean that Speaker Kevin McCarthy would have a really tight job trying to organize and hold together his majority. 

And then I look and realize there are seven Congresses between 1916 and today in which the majority was somewhere in the 220, 221, 222, 223 range. I was surprised. That was not my experience, because when I came to Congress, the Democrats had this huge majority. And then of course when we won, we were at 230, which was pretty healthy. You could manage at 230, we eventually grew to be 236. 

So I can report to you that it is remarkable that we’ve had this close election. It is fascinating to watch as people try to maneuver and think through. You know, Nancy Pelosi thinking maybe they’re gonna end up with the majority. Because after all, it’s very, very close. She’s now saying, well, maybe she won’t retire. She’s going to retire. I think that the time has come.

The three senior Democrats’ combined ages is older than the United States as a country. And I think the younger Democrats all realize, maybe that’s a bit much. If all three are over 80, maybe there’s time for, you know, some younger people like in their 60s or 70s. Although actually the ones who are mostly running are in their 40s. 

So I just wanted to share with you, I think you’re gonna see all sorts of fascinating maneuvers. You’re going to see some people on the right who try to pressure Kevin McCarthy. You’re going to find that they’re going to be some other people out there…who are moderate Republicans, they’re going to counterpressure. At the same time, the Democrats are going to be in a swirl between…you go towards a more practical approach, or you reinforce the AOC radical wing of the party? And they’re going to have some very important and very significant leadership elections of their own.

So stay tuned, because I think you’re going to see…these things remember, affect your tax payments, they affect the laws you live under. They affect how much the United States runs up in debt. They have so many different impacts that while sometimes it seems like it’s just politics, the fact is, politics of this level can have a real impact on all of our lives. And so I’ll report occasionally as things develop here in Washington, but I want you to pay some attention because these are big decisions, and they’re going to shape America for years to come.