House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is being called to resign after reportedly joking about hitting Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a gavel Saturday evening, according to Fox News.
During a dinner, McCarthy was gifted a large gavel with the words “Fire Pelosi” on it by members of Tennessee’s Republican congressional delegation. Tennessee Republicans Gov. Bill Lee, Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Sen. Bill Hagerty all spoke at the dinner, Fox News reported.
McCarthy gave a speech in which he was optimistic about Republicans regaining the House in 2022. He asked GOP donors at the dinner to join him in Washington to see Pelosi hand the gavel over to him, Fox News reported. (RELATED: ‘She’s Broken Congress’: McCarthy Slams Pelosi After Tapping Cheney, Kinzinger For Jan. 6 Committee)
Tenn. reps gave Kevin McCarthy an oversized gavel after speech.
McCarthy invites the 1,400 at Nashville dinner to DC when he becomes speaker.
He says he wants everyone to see Pelosi hand him the gavel. “It will be hard not to hit her with it but I will bang it down,” he says.
— michaelscherer (@michaelscherer) August 1, 2021
“It will be hard not to hit her with it but I will bang it down,” McCarthy appears to say, as it was captured on audio.
Here’s audio of @GOPLeader’s comment on @SpeakerPelosi: https://t.co/tSmcteVcdk pic.twitter.com/yLC4lzGEVV
— Vivian Jones (@Vivian_E_Jones) August 1, 2021
Some Democrats called for McCarthy’s resignation after the comment. California Democrat Reps. Eric Swalwell and Ted Lieu condemned McCarthy’s statement on Twitter.
“America has suffered enough violence around politics,” Swalwell said.
America has suffered enough violence around politics. @GOPLeader McCarthy is now a would-be assailant of @SpeakerPelosi. He needs to resign. https://t.co/6wvdwlG75Y
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) August 1, 2021
“You should never be encouraging or threatening or joking about causing violence to anyone, including the Speaker of the House,” Lieu said.
Dear @GOPLeader McCarthy: Don’t you think America has had enough political violence? You should never be encouraging or threatening or joking about causing violence to anyone, including the Speaker of the House. You need to apologize for your statement, or resign. https://t.co/jdP2bcmr5c
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 1, 2021
The comment comes after Pelosi called McCarthy “such a moron” after he opposed the reinstated mask mandate in the House.