McCarthy: Pelosi Should Focus on Coronavirus Relief, Not Partisan Politics

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., hit out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., saying her focus should be on relief for the coronavirus outbreak, not on oversight committees.

Pelosi recently created a new House Oversight Committee that will oversee the federal response to the pandemic, which is chaired by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. McCarthy told Fox News’ Steve Doocy on Friday that Pelosi should focus her attention on relief efforts.

"You have the Oversight Committee -- that's all they focus on. But, in the last bill that we just passed -- the CARES Act -- we created three new oversight entities, right?" he remarked. "We created the pandemic oversight that is a setup of inspector generals... We created a special individual who will be appointed by the president [and] confirmed by the Senate. And then, we actually created a congressional oversight that is appointed by all the leaders from Schumer to McConnell to Pelosi and myself. This is redundant."

He added, "She didn't go with the Oversight Committee Chair -- her own -- she appointed [James] Clyburn. And, remember what Clyburn said [as] her Majority Whip? He said that this is a time to restructure into their vision: government. This isn't about oversight. It sounds like pure politics.”

McCarthy continued, "Really, the speaker should be focused on what we need to deliver to the American public. Let's take care of the crisis at hand right now. We have five different oversights already looking at this and this is what she comes up with?"

• Pelosi to Form Bipartisan Panel to Oversee $2 Trillion Coronavirus Relief
• Pelosi, Mnuchin Infrastructure Talks Are Accelerating