“When Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced her retirement from congressional leadership on Thursday, the House chamber was packed with Democratic lawmakers in anticipation of the announcement from an icon of American politics,” NBC News reports.
“The Republican side of the chamber was largely empty. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who is eyeing the speaker’s job after his party captured the majority, was nowhere to be seen.”
Asked why he skipped her speech, McCarthy said: “I had meetings. But normally the others would do it during votes. I wish she could have done that — could have been there.”
