California’s Kevin McCarthy finally wins House Speaker. ‘Good thing for the Central Valley’

As midnight rolled past at the Capitol, Kevin McCarthy prevailed early Saturday on the 15th try in his tortured quest to become Speaker of the House of Representatives.

After four days and a number of ballots unseen since the 19th century, enough holdouts among a bloc of far-right conservatives finally relented and handed McCarthy the required majority by voting “present.” But they came along only after the Bakersfield Republican agreed to a series of key concessions that could ultimately hinder McCarthy’s ability to control the GOP caucus.

Still, having someone from the Central Valley — an often overlooked, politically purple and agricultural part of California — has perks for constituents there.

“It is a good thing for the Central Valley to have a Central Valley Speaker of the House,” Rep. John Duarte, R-Modesto, said Thursday.

“The speaker has a lot to do with committee assignments, legislative priorities, appropriations; the speaker is a powerful role,” Duarte said. “For David Valadao, myself, Tom McClintock, Jim Costa, all of us are better off with a Central Valley speaker.”

McCarthy’s victory came after a tumultuous 14th round of votes in which McCarthy missed the mark by one vote. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida strolled into the chamber late, setting himself up to cast his vote last, and voted “present” when McCarthy needed one more vote in his favor. It resulted in one GOP member-elect lunging at the Florida Republican before the chamber decided to try a 15th time.

Out of the chaos came a deal. Several “Never Kevins” pivoted to vote “present,” lowering the majority threshold McCarthy needed to get the gavel. Voting “present” means a member casts a vote that’s not yes or no, but shows they were in the chamber. It does not count against the total, so it lowers the number needed for passage.

In a chaotic 14th vote, Kevin McCarthy fails to be House Speaker before a Republican re-do

McCarthy’s district

Kern County, where McCarthy was born, raised and still lives, has some of the worst air quality in the country. It is among the top places for heart-disease related deaths. Drought, rerouted waterways and a lack of infrastructure have starved the agricultural-hub of water for farms and families.

McCarthy often partners with California colleagues from both parties on water access as well as legislation that targets the area’s large veteran population.

McCarthy quickly latched onto politics and ascended to the House leadership after becoming a congressman in 2007. He ascended to the GOP’s third-ranking position as Republican whip in 2011 and second-in-command as majority leader in 2014. McCarthy become minority leader, the head of the party, when Democrats took the House in 2019.

The California Republican tried to become speaker in 2015 but pulled out at the last minute after failing to secure enough support.

He’s had less trouble getting elected in California. The state’s new 20th Congressional District sent McCarthy back to the House in 2022 with 67% of the votes. The 20th, redrawn through the once-a-decade process of redistricting, is the Central Valley’s oddest-looking congressional district and among its most conservative.

It captures Millerton and Clovis in its top arm and extends out to Lemoore in a second arm. It runs south to Rosamond then stretches west to hold Maricopa and half of Bakersfield in a third arm. A sliver of Fresno around Fresno State also falls in the district.

House committees

Now that the House has a speaker, committees can be formed, rules can be adopted and legislation can begin to move, a process expected to begin next week.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, is in line to head the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee, an important panel for a Republican party eager to get tough on immigration.

McClintock told The Bee Friday that one of the top priorities will be to “strengthen the immigration laws in a manner that restores the ... policy that was so successful in slowing illegal immigration to a trickle and restoring control of our borders.”

Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, has been the top Republican on the appropriations defense subcommittee. That panel reviews and votes on Pentagon spending, and one of the pledges McCarthy made to the House rebels was that defense spending would stay at current levels.

Other California members will be key players in that drama, notably Reps. David Valadao, R-Hanford, and Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, who are committee members.

“To have the Speaker of the House of Representatives from Bakersfield, this is something that can be a huge deal for us,” Valadao said of the Central Valley en route to vote on the 14th ballot. “So I’m super excited. And I’ll do everything that I possibly can for Kevin McCarthy right now.”

House spending

McCarthy is also considering allowing no increases in other spending, and if that decision holds, it could have enormous effects in the Central Valley. Aid to schools, housing, transportation and other services government helps fund could be limited.

So could “community funding projects,” or earmarks, which local members of Congress used last month to fund millions of dollars of items.

Among the projects funded last month were $4.4 million for a runway reconstruction project at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport, as well as $3.7 million for the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) fleet replacement project.

And $25 million will be going to improve about four miles of the Madera 41 South Expressway from a 2-lane rural to a 4-lane highway.

Of course, any spending would need approval by the Senate, where Democrats control 51 of the 100 seats. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is a member of that chamber’s appropriations committee.

House rules

The House is also expected to adopt new rules. Among the most controversial, and most sought by the ultra-conservatives, is allowing any member to call for a motion to oust the Speaker.

Gone would be the Democratic-created House committee to study climate change. New would be the subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government, presumably a vehicle for looking into Biden administration policies

Also in the rules package: Reviving an old rule that would allow changes in spending legislation that would lower salaries or dismiss certain federal employees, such as Cabinet members.

Also expect to see a flurry of conservative-authored legislation quickly. Immigration reform is expected to come up soon. Also anticipated is an effort to dismantle the Democratic plan to have the Internal Revenue Service hire additional compliance agents.

None of this, though, is expected to go far in the Senate, where Democrats hold a 51-49 majority.

“It’s an additional threshold,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-San Marcos, the sort of roadblock that has led to partial government shutdowns during three of the last four presidential administrations.

Former Rep. Connie Conway, who was born in Bakersfield and lives in Tulare, said Thursday that even if House legislation doesn’t become law, having a Central Valley speaker is “a huge bonus” that could bring attention to the area’s most important issues, including water and energy.

Though Conway disagreed with a lot of the former speaker’s policy, she said, “To go from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Speaker Kevin McCarthy is such a powerful position for all Californians.”