Political action groups affiliated with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy shelled out millions — to support the same Republicans who ousted him Tuesday.
Just last year, the California congressman’s affiliated leadership PAC contributed close to $100,000 between eight Congress members that voted to strip him of his Speaker role after just three days shy of his 9-month anniversary at the helm.
“A lot of them I helped get elected, so I probably should have picked someone else,” McCarthy told the National Review after the betrayal.
McCarthy’s Majority Committee gave hefty contributions to the 2022 campaigns of Matt Rosendale of Montana, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, campaign finance records show.
The PAC also gave $5,000 each to Eli Crane of Arizona and Bob Good of Virginia.
Last year, McCarthy’s affiliated leadership PAC contributed close to $100,000 between eight Congress members that voted to strip him of his Speaker role AP
Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) benefitted financially from McCarthy’s PAC but was still one of eight Republicans to vote against the speaker. Getty Images
Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) received $5,000 from McCarthy’s PAC. Getty ImagesReps. Cory Mills of Florida, Victoria Spartz of Indiana and Warren Davidson of Ohio — who originally supported vacating McCarthy but ultimately voted to keep him as speaker — also each received $10,000 from the Majority Committee.
The PAC also contributed $15,000 to the Spartz-affiliated Free Market Fund PAC and $10,000 to the Mace-affiliated Must Act to Create Excellence PAC.
McCarthy ousted as speaker — now what?
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was removed as speaker of the House after a historic vote led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) has been appointed temporary speaker until a new speaker can be elected.
The House has never removed and replaced a speaker before in its 234-year history.
Multiple reps have been floated as potential speakers, but it is unclear who will succeed McCarthy at this time.
Nancy Pelosi has been evicted from her Capitol Hill office by the interim speaker.
McCarthy blasted Gaetz in a defiant interview with reporters, slamming the Florida congressman as a fake conservative and calling his move “personal.”
Mace and Crane’s 2022 campaigns also saw respective $5,000 and $10,000 donations from the Congressional Leadership Fund, another McCarthy-affiliated PAC, in 2022.
Crane was given an extra $900,000 in contributions from the group to be spent on advertisements, according to a January Politico report.
House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Matt Rosendale’s (R-MT) 2022 campaign received hefty contributions from the former speaker’s PAC. Getty Images
A Nancy Mace-affiliated Must Act to Create Excellence PAC gained $10,000 from McCarthy’s PAC along with another $5,000 donation to the congresswoman’s campaign. Getty Images
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) was among the several campaigns to have financial help before voting to oust McCarthy. Getty ImagesMcCarthy raised a total of $65.2 million for House Republicans this election cycle, as of July, according to the National Review.
Andy Biggs of Arizona and Ken Buck of Colorado — as well as charge leader Matt Gaetz of Florida — were the only GOP members that booted McCarthy who didn’t receive contributions from the former Speaker’s PACs.
