Nancy Pelosi trolls Kevin McCarthy in real time during his hours-long floor speech, calling it a ‘temper tantrum’

• House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke for 5 hours and counting Thursday night.
• His speech stalled the vote on the Democrats’ $1.75 trillion social-spending bill.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi taunted McCarthy while he was still going, asking if he was okay.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued multiple statements trolling House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy while he was in the middle of an hours-long speech on the House floor Thursday night.

McCarthy spoke for at least five hours — and was still going at the time of publication — in an effort to delay the vote on the Democrats’ social-spending bill. The speech included references to Elon Musk, Abraham Lincoln, and the Afghanistan withdrawal, among many other topics.

Meanwhile, Pelosi’s office got busy issuing statements refuting and criticizing McCarthy’s remarks. One statement titled “McCarthy Needs a Reality Check” called the speech a “temper tantrum” full of “unhinged claims.” It included a list of rebuttals to McCarthy.

“House Democrats are preparing to pass landmark legislation to lower costs, fight inflation and make big corporations and the wealthiest pay their fair share,” the statement said. “But McCarthy is welcome to keep getting facts wrong on the House Floor.”

—Michael McAuliff (@mmcauliff) November 19, 2021

After McCarthy had gone on for a few hours, Pelosi’s office released another statement asking: “Is Kevin McCarthy OK?”

“We’re glad we’re not the only one who can’t follow Minority Leader McCarthy’s meandering rant that has nothing to do with the Build Back Better Act,” it said.

For her part, Pelosi herself holds the record for the longest speech delivered from the House floor, which she set in 2018 with an eight-hour speech aimed at urging Republicans to vote on immigration legislation for “dreamers.”

McCarthy’s speech delayed the House vote on the Build Back Better Act, which includes funds for universal preschool, child tax credits, and an expansion of Medicare, among other items. While he was speaking House Democrats decided to delay the vote until Friday.