Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
GOP’s McCarthy Slams California Democrats, Faces Heckling
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
August 16, 2018

Share

SACRAMENTO — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy blasted his home state of California as out of touch Wednesday, criticizing leaders for increasing the gas tax and failing to get a handle on long lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles. At the same time, the Republican defended the Trump administration’s policies on taxes and tariffs.
A protest from dozens of young immigrant activists seated throughout the room briefly delayed McCarthy’s Q-and-A at the event sponsored by the Public Policy Institute of California.
“McCarthy, where’s your heart?” chanted the group, organized by the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights, a Los-Angeles based group that has launched protests over the Trump administration’s immigration policies and pushed for legislation giving legal status to young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.
McCarthy lamented the protests after a several-minute pause in the event.
“How productive is that?” he said. Several minutes earlier, McCarthy had said Democrats in Congress are to blame for the lack of a comprehensive immigration overhaul.
McCarthy ticked through a slew of California Republicans’ midterm talking points. It’s McCarthy’s job to help Republicans defend their majority in the chamber in the November elections, when Democrats are hoping to pick up at least seven seats in California.

The Next Speaker of the House

McCarthy is angling to be the next Speaker of the House after Paul Ryan retires at the end of the year, although he remained coy about his ambitions.
He zeroed in on a 12-cent increase in the state’s gas tax enacted last year to pay for road and bridge repairs, which Republicans are trying to repeal in November. Working Californians already struggling to afford homes and live close to where they work are being punished by the higher tax, McCarthy said.
His criticism of the gas tax, DMV woes and the high cost of living echoed key themes the GOP is using to sway independent voters ahead of the November election.
McCarthy defended the federal tax overhaul and the escalating tariff feud with China, which is expected to hit American farmers hard. McCarthy’s home county is one of the nation’s most productive agricultural counties. He acknowledged the tariffs make farmers in his district nervous but said the country will be better off in the long run.
McCarthy declined to answer a reporter’s questions on the immigration protests.
He’s not the first California politician to be interrupted by young immigration activists. Last year, Democratic U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was heckled in San Francisco by activists who argued she wasn’t doing enough to fight for them, and Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has faced protests as well.

DON'T MISS

San Diego Added to Southwest’s Nonstop Destinations From Fresno Airport

DON'T MISS

Clovis Man Gets 27 Years to Life for Attempted Murder of Estranged Wife

DON'T MISS

$3 Million Gift Will Mean Laptops, Solar Panels, Larger Chapel for This Fresno University

DON'T MISS

Ohtani’s Ex-Interpreter Is Sentenced to 4 Years and 9 Months in Sports Betting Case

DON'T MISS

NCAA Changes Transgender Policy to Limit Women’s Competition to Athletes Assigned Female at Birth

DON'T MISS

Israel Starts Planning for Palestinians to Leave Gaza Despite International Rejection

DON'T MISS

Mayor Says Fresno Needs High-Speed Rail Despite Cost Overruns

DON'T MISS

12 States to Sue Over DOGE Access to Government Payment Systems Containing Personal Data

DON'T MISS

Irv Gotti, Music Executive Who Created Murder Inc. Records, Dies at 54

DON'T MISS

ABC30 Has a New News Director. She’s a Familiar TV Face.

UP NEXT

State Farm Asks for ‘Emergency’ Insurance Rate Increases After LA Fires

UP NEXT

Lawmakers Propose $175 Million in New CalFire Funding

UP NEXT

FBI Agents Who ‘Simply Followed Orders’ in Jan. 6 Probes Won’t Be Fired, a Justice Official Says

UP NEXT

Rob Bonta Tells Politico That He’s Not Running for CA Governor

UP NEXT

LA Neighbors Have Vastly Different Post-Wildfire Rebuilding Options Due to Insurance Crisis

UP NEXT

Where Will Californians Rally During Nationwide Protest Against Trump Administration?

UP NEXT

Hawaii Volcano Produces Tall Lava Fountaining in Latest Episode of Kilauea Eruption

UP NEXT

San Francisco Ready to Grant New Mayor Greater Powers to Battle Fentanyl Crisis

UP NEXT

CA Allocates $50M to Safeguard Policies, Protect Immigrants Against Trump

UP NEXT

Newsom Counters Trump, Orders More Stormwater Stored in Valley Reservoirs

Ohtani’s Ex-Interpreter Is Sentenced to 4 Years and 9 Months in Sports Betting Case

6 hours ago

NCAA Changes Transgender Policy to Limit Women’s Competition to Athletes Assigned Female at Birth

6 hours ago

Israel Starts Planning for Palestinians to Leave Gaza Despite International Rejection

6 hours ago

Mayor Says Fresno Needs High-Speed Rail Despite Cost Overruns

6 hours ago

12 States to Sue Over DOGE Access to Government Payment Systems Containing Personal Data

6 hours ago

Irv Gotti, Music Executive Who Created Murder Inc. Records, Dies at 54

7 hours ago

ABC30 Has a New News Director. She’s a Familiar TV Face.

7 hours ago

California’s EV Sales Stall. So What Happens to Landmark Mandate?

8 hours ago

31 Arrested in Fresno Human Trafficking Operation

8 hours ago

Find Your Next Career Opportunity Today at FUSD Expo

8 hours ago

San Diego Added to Southwest’s Nonstop Destinations From Fresno Airport

Southwest Airlines added a fourth nonstop destination to routes to and from Fresno Yosemite International Airport. Beginning Oct. 2, travele...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

San Diego Added to Southwest’s Nonstop Destinations From Fresno Airport

5 hours ago

Clovis Man Gets 27 Years to Life for Attempted Murder of Estranged Wife

5 hours ago

$3 Million Gift Will Mean Laptops, Solar Panels, Larger Chapel for This Fresno University

Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers baseball star Shohei Ohtani arrives at federal court for bank and tax fraud sentencing on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif. (AP/Damian Dovarganes)
6 hours ago

Ohtani’s Ex-Interpreter Is Sentenced to 4 Years and 9 Months in Sports Betting Case

The San Jose State University Spartans line up for the playing of the national anthem and player introductions for their NCAA Mountain West women's volleyball game against the Colorado State University Rams in Fort Collins, Colo., on Oct. 3, 2024. (AP File)
6 hours ago

NCAA Changes Transgender Policy to Limit Women’s Competition to Athletes Assigned Female at Birth

6 hours ago

Israel Starts Planning for Palestinians to Leave Gaza Despite International Rejection

6 hours ago

Mayor Says Fresno Needs High-Speed Rail Despite Cost Overruns

6 hours ago

12 States to Sue Over DOGE Access to Government Payment Systems Containing Personal Data

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend