Democracy Dies in Darkness

Kevin McCarthy and the intoxication of power

Caught in a lie after denying that he talked about urging Trump to resign after the Jan. 6 insurrection, the GOP House leader seeks the former president’s forgiveness to keep his speakership hopes alive.

Analysis by
Chief correspondent|
April 23, 2022 at 10:56 a.m. EDT
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Capitol Hill in February. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
8 min

Power is intoxicating, its pursuit revealing of character but sometimes debilitating; House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is Exhibit A. In his ceaseless drive to become the next speaker of the House, he has demonstrated weakness, hypocrisy and a willingness to lie to save his skin.

Thanks to the reporting of Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns of the New York Times, and the incontrovertible power of audio recordings to bite the mighty at the most inopportune times, it all came together badly Thursday for the politician who had seemed poised to lead the House next January.