ADVERTISEMENT
McCarthy’s vulnerability was evident from the start. After years of offensive comments, McCarthy and the Republican Party moved against Iowa Rep. Steve King
Steven (Steve) Arnold KingRep. Gosar denounces white racism after controversial appearanceIn Marjorie Taylor Greene, a glimpse of the futureHouse votes to kick Greene off committees over embrace of conspiracy theoriesMORE in 2019, but only after he became an object of scorn back home. As one GOP aide put it, King won “a lifetime achievement award for awful comments.” The final straw was a New York Times interview in which King said, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization how did that language become offensive?” McCarthy blocked King from serving on the House Judiciary and Agriculture committees. Iowa voters later finished the job, voting King out of office in a 2020 GOP primary.