Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy says President Joe Biden is doing what the Republican-led Congress wants. McCarthy is taking credit, and claiming victory, for pushing Biden in what he considers the right direction. McCarthy tweeted:
– Had Republicans not won the House majority
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) March 20, 2023
– Had we not made the Commitment to America
– Had we not taken action to nullify DC’s soft-on-crime law
This victory would not be possible.
House Republicans will continue to lead the fight for safe communities across the country. https://t.co/M2qucR4pp3
McCarthy’s tweet says that “House Republicans will continue to lead the fight for safe communities across the country” and speculates that had Republicans “not won a House majority” and “not taken action to nullify DC’s soft-on-crime law” this “victory would not be possible.”
The D.C. changes had proposed, among other things, lighter penalties for crimes like carjacking, which supporters say made Biden’s objection politically safe. (It’s hard to find a poll in which a majority of Americans think carjackers should get a break.)
Earlier this month Biden surprised and agitated some Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, when he announced he would support the GOP-sponsored legislation that walked back changes for Washington, D.C., which had been proposed by the D.C. Council.
Beyond the D.C. bill, McCarthy got another request granted by Biden yesterday, with the President’s move to declassify information about the origins of COVID-19.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) sponsored the Covid-19 Origin Act of 2023 that Biden signed, which had passed the House and Senate with unanimous support. It gives the Director of National Intelligence 90 days to declassify all information relating to potential links between China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and Covid-19.
McCarthy’s pinned tweet — a signal of his priorities — says to his constituents: “You deserve to know the origins of COVID.”
With Biden signing the Hawley legislation, McCarthy again claims Biden is following his leadership in the House, with Republicans pushing the transparency effort.
