MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy may be out of Congress, but he’s still playing the inside game.
McCarthy is working as a key advisor to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan as Jordan potentially seeks the top Republican leadership role in the next Congress, The Washington Sun has learned.
Onetime foes, McCarthy and Jordan became close allies in the final year of the California Republican’s career. As McCarthy sought the speaker’s gavel in January 2023, Jordan was a key partner in helping win over some of the conservative holdouts.
After McCarthy was ousted from the post in the fall of 2023, he returned the favor by helping Jordan in his bid for the speakership. That effort failed and McCarthy resigned from the House that December. But now, the duo is back, strategizing about how to boost Jordan’s chances of leading the Republicans conference next year.
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McCarthy and Jordan talk often, sources close to both say, and McCarthy has been advising Jordan on how to best position himself for a leadership bid. A source familiar with their conversations said Jordan has sought McCarthy’s counsel and confirmed the two have discussed the contours of Jordan’s potential leadership race.
McCarthy declined The Washington Sun’s request to comment.
Top Republican leaders are campaigning across the country to hold on to their narrow House majority, but in the event they lose it, Jordan is expected to run for minority leader, The Sun has previously reported. This would probably pit him against current House Speaker Mike Johnson and McCarthy’s longtime rival and former second-in-command, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
The former speaker has criticised Johnson over his handling of the job, and openly predicted his party would lose control of the House in the midterms. Sources point to McCarthy’s jabs at House Republican leadership as subtle indicators that he’s working to assist Jordan. McCarthy cast Johnson’s decision to keep the House out of session over extended periods of time as a mistake, and he suggested leadership was unsuccessful in giving candidates a platform to boast about in their districts.
“In the House, they were in the fewest amount of days. … They let the Democrats dictate,” McCarthy told BloombergTV last week. “You have to give a reason why to win. What are the three things Republicans will do if they win the majority? I can’t tell you what that is.”
A source close to McCarthy emphasized to The Sun that members — particularly those whom McCarthy has helped elect in the past — routinely come to McCarthy and seek his counsel for help with their own races, fundraising strategies and other goals.
McCarthy still has strong allies on Capitol Hill, and some of them have privately become Jordan’s top supporters.
“Kevin’s always helping everyone,” one senior GOP member told The Sun. “Well, everyone but Johnson.”
In an interview with The Sun in South Carolina on Monday, Jordan would not engage with the notion that he was planning or thinking about possibly running for Republican leader in two weeks. He repeatedly insisted his sole mission was to keep the House in GOP hands.
“I am not trying to play games, but just I’m focused on the next eight days,” he said. “I’m focused on keeping the majority.”
Asked about McCarthy’s comments about Johnson’s performance, Jordan said that while “you can debate with that all you want, all I know is, here’s where we’re at.”
While no Republican is willing to acknowledge there is positioning going on behind the scenes, allies of Jordan, Johnson and Scalise all have been working to ensure that come Nov. 10, when House Republicans hold their leadership election, their preferred candidate will win.
All three have been barnstorming the country for members and GOP challengers, and attempting to make inroads with the people who will have a vote in the internal conference contest. If Republicans lose the House, the candidate with a simple majority of Republican members’ votes in a secret-ballot race becomes the minority leader. Unlike the public vote on the House floor for the majority leader, this contest hinges on relationships, and even President Donald Trump’s endorsement may not be a factor.
As for whether he believes Johnson is the right person to lead the conference in the minority, Jordan commended the speaker for his work and how he’s handled the past three years. But he demurred from the ultimate question.
“I think Mike’s done an outstanding job, but I’m not worried about any of that stuff right now,” Jordan said. “We got to worry about stopping the DSA.”
This story was updated to correct the date of the House Republican leadership elections.
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