Kevin McCarthy rolls out House GOP 'Commitment to America'
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), flanked by hard-right and more centrist members of his caucus, unveiled his party's new "Commitment to America" agenda in Pennsylvania on Friday, laying out in broad strokes some of the things House Republicans will try to do if they win control of the chamber in November.
"The agenda was light on details and avoided certain topics that polls show are not favorable to Republicans' chances of electoral success," like abortion, the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, or defunding the FBI to protect former President Donald Trump, The New York Times reports. Instead it focuses on items that can unite McCarthy's fractious caucus, like firing IRS agents and increasing border security.
The weeklong rollout of the slim "Commitment to America" document was marred by prematurely released materials, a fake Abraham Lincoln quote, and a gauzy rollout video of bucolic Americana that features stock footage from Russia and Ukraine, according to detailed analysis by HuffPo.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
President Biden dismissed McCarthy's document as "a thin series of policy goals with little or no detail," criticizing GOP plans to ban abortion nationwide, reverse the government's new authority to negotiate drug prices, and require reauthorization votes for Social Security and Medicare.
"It's notable that McCarthy alone has proposed a plan if Republicans win control of the House chamber," The Associated Press reports. "In the Senate, Republican leader Mitch McConnell has declined to put forward an agenda, preferring to simply run against Biden and Democrats in the midterm election."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations



