McCarthy Delays Vote In Record All-Night Rant [VIDEO]

The Washington Post reports:

Democrats began Thursday hoping to hold a swift vote on the signature spending initiative, putting an end to months of intense, internal wrangling among their own liberal and moderate ranks. The bill’s passage would have notched another major milestone for Biden just days after he signed into law a separate effort to invest $1.2 trillion in the nation’s infrastructure.

But their timetable hit an unexpected snag after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) took to the chamber floor beginning in the evening. He soon embarked on a form of filibuster, using the unlimited time available to House leaders ahead of votes to rail on the roughly $2 trillion bill. McCarthy’s winding speech attacked Democrats over a broad range of issues, including border security and Afghanistan policy, and repeatedly mischaracterized their exact spending ambitions.

TIME Magazine reports:

Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy rose at 8:38 p.m. Thursday, ostensibly to speak in opposition to Democrats’ social-spending and climate bill. But it quickly became apparent that he was auditioning for the job of Speaker of the House.

And by the time he wrapped at 5:10 a.m.—eight hours and 32 minutes later—it was clear that he had an audience of one: ex-President Donald Trump, a figure who is still widely seen as the true commander of the Republican Party and still a critic of McCarthy for not doing more to keep Trump in the White House after his electoral loss.

He criticized the Nobel Peace Prize committee for denying Trump the recognition and blasted Democrats for two impeachments: “​​It was all lies.” And McCarthy repeatedly claimed China unleashed COVID-19 on the world—despite new doubts about the virus’ origin raised just hours earlier in a widely respected journal.

The New York Times reports:



“I don’t know if they think because they left, I’m going to stop,” Mr. McCarthy vowed, as the Republicans seated behind him applauded. “I’m not.”

Yielding the floor shortly after 5 a.m., he spoke for eight hours and 32 minutes. It was the longest continuous House speech in modern history, surpassing one by Representative Nancy Pelosi of California in 2018.

While the House has no equivalent to the Senate filibuster, Mr. McCarthy used the so-called magic minute rule, which allows the House speaker, the majority leader and the minority leader to talk for as long as they want.