Speaker Kevin McCarthy kept a busy schedule Thursday, visiting the Fresno/Clovis portion of his district.

During the afternoon, McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, met with local leaders at his new Clovis office. Among the attendees: Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig, Clovis City Councilwoman Diane Pearce, Assemblyman Jim Patterson, and Fresno County Farm Bureau executive director Ryan Jacobsen.

In a brief portion of that meeting, the media was invited to observe. McCarthy talked politics, and what was happening in Washington.

“We’ve been really successful. We just passed our first appropriation bill. The debt ceiling was a battle … but it’s the first time a Congress has ever spent  $2.1 trillion less,” McCarthy told the group. “We got some pretty good successes along the way. We’re going to have a lot more.”

After redistricting went into effect in January, McCarthy’s 20th Congressional District extended to Clovis and east central Fresno.

He said he’s handled 200 constituent cases in the new area portion of his district.

“It’s another promise being kept and our offices up and running in Clovis,” McCarthy said.

Meets with Veterans, Community Groups

McCarthy held separate roundtables during the day with several veterans groups and other community organizations.

The Speaker’s press office said participants in the veterans roundtable included the Clovis Veterans Memorial District, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3225, Fresno VA Medical Center leadership, Clovis City Manager John Holt, and Clovis Councilman Drew Bessinger.

Community roundtable participants included the Clovis Chamber of Commerce, Clovis Rodeo Association, Clovis Community Foundation,  and business owners, as well as Clovis Mayor Lynne Ashbeck, Councilman Matt Basgall, and Police Chief Curt Fleming.

McCarthy also had a late-afternoon fundraiser.

News Conference Highlights: Indictment, Impeachment

McCarthy held a 25-minute news conference, addressing the Trump indictment, possible Biden impeachment, and water issues.

“It’s a two-justice system,” McCarthy said of Trump’s latest court hearing on Thursday. He compared the three Trump indictments to the investigation into Hunter Biden.

McCarthy reviewed the allegations against Biden’s business practices, and possible connections to his father, President Joe Biden.

“If you’re part of Biden Inc., you’ve got to pay to play. And now you got a federal government to let you off on it and everybody else gets treated differently,” McCarthy said.

He also compared Trump making statements about the election and getting punished, while nothing happened to Democrats.

“You shouldn’t be prosecuted for your thoughts. And the difference here is when Hillary Clinton said it nothing happened to her,” McCarthy said. “When the DNC said it, nothing happened to them either. So stop using government to go after people who politically disagree with you. That is wrong. And that should stop now.”

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McCarthy said he would “not use impeachment for political purposes.”

“I do know the constitutional responsibilities of the House is for oversight and investigation. That’s what we do,” McCarthy said.

Blames Newsom for Lack of Water Storage, Tulare Lake

McCarthy said Tulare Lake emerged for the obvious reason — “a very wet season” — but also a lack of water storage.

“For the decades before, we had not built to be able to gather all the water in a wet season. Think about all the water we lost going out to the ocean. Think about the billions of dollars it cost to create a desalinization plant to make saltwater freshwater. But we sent all this fresh water out. We need to plan for the future of California,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said he is still working with Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, on federal legislation to create more storage.

The Speaker also pointed the finger at Gov. Gavin Newsom for opposing prior federal legislation. McCarthy said Newsom has mismanaged California’s water infrastructure.

“Why did the governor fight us? Why did he put up more roadblocks so we couldn’t have more storage? The greatest return on investment would be just lifting Lake Shasta by a few feet. You can store so much more. But why would he fight those things? So now we end up with where we are in life,” McCarthy said.