McCarthy’s second shot at first-time speaker relies on Trump
By LISA MASCARO
AP Congressional Correspondent
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — The next speaker could very well hail from California, but it won’t be Nancy Pelosi’s slice of the Golden State. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is a son of California’s Central Valley, a farming and oil-pumping heartland. It’s a swath of rural conservatism amid California’s progressive politics and it’s Donald Trump’s slice of California. It’s here that McCarthy launched his political rise. Now, he’s depending on Trump’s support to win back the House in November and seize the speaker’s gavel from Democrat Pelosi. But this past week, McCarthy’s future as GOP leader was thrown into jeopardy after audio was released of him telling fellow Republicans in the aftermath of the Capitol riot that Trump should resign.