McCarthy, who made history as the first Speaker to be formally removed from the post, announced his coming resignation earlier this month, just before California’s deadline to file for reelection.
Gavin Newsom (D) has to call for a special election within 14 days of when McCarthy officially departs his seat.
Speaking to reporters last week, McCarthy referenced a quirk in California election law that could have allowed Newsom to keep the seat vacant rather than calling for a special election if he stayed in Congress into January — a scenario that happened when former Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) resigned in 2020.
A piece of shit to the very end, deliberately timing it to force California to waste money on a special election (that would likely have lower turnout and thus skew Republican, to boot).