House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has sought to use the impeachment process as an opportunity to further his political agenda and settle scores with Democrats. Since the process began, McCarthy has employed a variety of tactics — from issuing threats to using procedural maneuvers — to increase his power and diminish that of Democrats. He has stoked a narrative of a party “coup” and a “rigged” process, and has been unrelenting in his opposition to the impeachment inquiry while pushing for investigations into Republicans’ favored targets, such as the Bidens and the Clinton Foundation. In the face of historic partisan tensions, McCarthy has emerged as a fierce leader for the Republican Party in this moment of trial.
Kevin McCarthy turns impeachment into political score-settling
