MISOGYNY

McCarthy Faces Backlash After Joking About Hitting Pelosi With Gavel

The House minority leader made the remarks at a Tennessee GOP dinner and has since faced calls to resign.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is facing calls to resign after joking about hitting Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a gavel. McCarthy was gifted a giant gavel at a Republican Party event in Tennessee on Saturday night and joked that it would difficult for him not to strike Pelosi when she presents him with the gavel if the GOP retakes the House next year. The two have been embroiled in a war of words since Pelosi called McCarthy a “moron” for his opposition to mask mandates to fight the spread of COVID-19, CNN reported. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), among others, called for McCarthy’s resignation. “America has suffered enough violence around politics. @GOPLeader McCarthy is now a would-be assailant of @SpeakerPelosi,” he wrote on Twitter. Squabbles between the two senior party leaders have taken a more aggressive tone recently in light of Pelosi blocking two of McCarthy’s nominees to serve on the panel investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.