Former House Speaker and current Republican California Representative Kevin McCarthy announced earlier this week that he would be leaving Congress by the end of December — after resolutely insisting that "I never quit" after his ouster from the position of House Speaker in October.
This seemingly abrupt about-face from McCarthy has led to a significant amount of ridicule both online and in the news and X, formerly Twitter, users added to the pile-on in one of the pettiest ways possible: with a fact check courtesy of an X Community Note.
The rest of the community was loving the shade and got in on the mockery.
Others called out more of McCarthy's hypocrisy and broken promises:
McCarthy has certainly talked a big game in the past, but apparently, he can't actually handle the heat.
Before he was removed as House Speaker, he tweeted "Bring it on," seemingly egging on his fellow Republicans to come at him.
Now that they've called his bluff, he decided to quit completely. And even members of the House are getting in on the mockery.
Florida Representative Matt Gaetz felt the need to criticize McCarthy after his resignation announcement.
Former @SpeakerMcCarthy is quitting Congress. He\u2019s essentially saying if he cannot run the place as Speaker, then he will leave.\n\nThere\u2019s an Establishment Exodus from the House Republican Conference. It\u2019s my hope that we backfill these establishment entities with folks who are\u2026— (@)
California Representative Robert Garcia had some thoughts too:
McCarthy's House term would not have ended until 2025, but he chose a very early resignation from Congress instead.
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@BillAckman/Twitter