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RJC wishes McCarthy well on retirement, ‘one of best friends’ to US Jews, Israel

The organization wished the former speaker upon his announcement of retirement at the end of the year.

Shimon Peres, Kevin McCarthy
Then-Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy (left) meets with then-Israeli President Shimon Peres at the president’s house in Jerusalem on Aug. 17, 2011. Photo by Miriam Alster/Flash90.

The Republican Jewish Coalition offered kind words to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) following the legislator’s stated plans to retire at the end of the year, two months after being ousted as Speaker of the House.

“Speaker McCarthy’s tireless efforts flipped the [U.S.] House of Representatives to Republican control, securing a majority that is doggedly working on behalf of the American people,” said RJC national chairman Norm Coleman, a former senator of Minnesota.

He called McCarthy “one of the best friends the Jewish community and the State of Israel have ever had.”

Coleman said Jews were “particularly appreciative of Speaker McCarthy for keeping his promise to remove antisemite [Rep.] Ilhan Omar [D-Minn.] from the prestigious House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and his solidarity with the State of Israel, which culminated in a landmark speech at the Knesset—making him just the second House Speaker in history to address Israel’s parliament.”

The RJC leader said the group “will miss Speaker McCarthy’s leadership in the House of Representatives, but we look forward to his continued engagement in the fight for America’s future to deliver an economy that’s strong, a nation that’s safe, a future that’s built on freedom, and a government that’s accountable.”

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