Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced he will be retiring from Congress at the end of the year, but will remain active in Republican politics. Rep. McCarthy made history earlier this year as he was the first speaker to be ousted from the role.
Faculty experts at George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary on McCarthy’s retirement, including his legacy as well as the rocky year he’s had in Congress. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations Specialists Tayah Frye at [email protected] or Cate Douglass at [email protected].
Casey Burgat, Legislative Affairs Program Director and Assistant Professor at George Washington University. He is an expert in Congress and Judiciary sections, congressional capacity and reform. He has served as a Senior Governance Fellow and worked at the Congressional Research Service. Burgat also has experience in federal rulemaking, issues of congressional reform and staffing, federal budgeting, and federal advisory committees. He can discuss McCarthy’s legacy and what his departure means for the House.
Matthew Dallek, professor of political management, is a political historian whose intellectual interests include the intersection of social crises and political transformation, the evolution of the modern conservative movement, and liberalism and its critics. Dallek has authored and co-authored four books, including, “The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan’s First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics.” Dallek can offer predictions as to what is next for McCarthy and where he might be active within the political sphere.
Peter Loge is the director of the GW School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA). Loge has nearly 30 years of experience in politics and communications, including a presidential appointment at the Food and Drug Administration and senior positions for Sen. Edward Kennedy and three members of the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently leads the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at SMPA and continues to advise advocates and organizations.
"[McCarthy's announcement] is more evidence of what happens when politicians put posturing over governing," Loge says. "Former Speaker McCarthy was punished for the sin of working to ensure the government worked. It is clear to Congressman McCarthy, and increasingly clear to the American people, that some in Congress would rather burn down the House to raise money and get on TV than do the hard work of governing. The problem will get worse until elected officials who are good at yelling are replaced by those who are good at doing."
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