(Press Release) San Diego County’s U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), who is Jewish, on Wednesday issued the following statement on the removal of U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) as Speaker of the House of Representatives:
By now, you’ve probably heard that Kevin McCarthy is no longer Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. I voted with a bipartisan majority of the House to pass the Motion to Vacate the Chair – in other words, to remove Kevin McCarthy from this position. Here’s why:
I believe that government can work by and for the people, and do real good in people’s lives. It’s why I’ve devoted my life to public service, and why I’m so proud to serve San Diego in the House of Representatives. I firmly believe that people would rather trust their representatives than agree with them 100% of the time – and I feel the same way about House leadership. But House Republicans have turned the House into chaos, elevating extremism and the MAGA faction of their party – instead of addressing the important issues facing our country like bringing down the cost of living and expanding access to levers of opportunity.
They intentionally pushed our country toward a historic default of our debt and a federal government shutdown, ignoring the stress and anxiety inflicted on the American people and our economy. They hijacked the bipartisan NDAA (our yearly bill that decides the budget and priorities for the Department of Defense) and made it into a reckoning on culture war issues instead of addressing the needs of our service members and military families. And they launched a baseless impeachment inquiry to distract from their inability to govern, wasting time and taxpayer dollars, despite no evidence of wrongdoing.
That’s why I voted for the Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair and remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. The House Republican caucus is now internally deliberating on how to move forward – and hopefully, we’ll vote on a new Speaker next week. I look forward to getting back to the important work of the People’s House, and working with anyone from either party who is willing to focus on the kind of leadership and representation our communities deserve.
Warmly,