- Kevin McCarthy's mission in life is to become speaker of the House.
- Regaining control of the chamber this fall would help him stake a claim for the leadership gavel.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy remains confident that Republicans will flip control of the chamber this fall, a victory that would bring him one step closer to fulfilling his life's dream of becoming speaker.
If dissatisfied colleagues still deny him the gavel after that, it's clearly "not God's plan for me to be speaker," the California Republican told Punchbowl News of the prospective political gut punch.
Managing expectations about running the whole show, which blew up in his face in late 2015, is something that McCarthy must contend with as election day draws nearer.
While he needs to claim just a handful of seats to swap places with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the size and composition of the incoming crop of lawmakers will define how much power McCarthy actually wields in the 118th Congress.
"I think I can win [the speakership] with any seat majority. … If I'm even up for speaker, that means we won seats," McCarthy told Punchowl of the internal calculations he's already gone through, adding that he thinks he should get credit for his prolific fundraising efforts and candidate recruitment.
"If I'm not going to be acceptable to the body having that scenario this time, no one's acceptable," McCarthy estimated.
He had to drop out of the leadership race years ago amid rumors of extramarital affairs with then-Rep. Renee Elmers of North Carolina and backlash for bragging that the GOP-led Benghazi investigation had torpedoed then-presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's poll numbers, problems that gave arch-conservatives like Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio pause.
McCarthy has worked on shoring up that right flank in recent years.
While he'll never be MAGA enough for Trump allies like Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, McCarthy has buddied up to Jordan and mapped out plenty of payback opportunities for Trump loyalists eager to launch their own congressional investigations.