Manchin Says if He Was In the House, He Would ‘Have Been Voting for Kevin McCarthy’

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Thursday said that Rep. Kevin McCarthy's, R-Calif., ousting as House Speaker seemed "personal" and declared he would have supported him, had he been able to vote with his Democratic colleagues in the House.

McCarthy was ousted this week from his leadership position after eight Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., joined with Democrats and voted him out, leaving the House in a scramble to find a new Speaker.

"This one seemed to be personal. That's all I can say. For some reason, it was personal," Manchin said during a Thursday interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe. "And I don't know all the ins and outs. But people that I know are very rational, very reasonable, centrist, moderates, Democrats, they would have naturally reached over and helped Kevin. There was a purpose and a reason they didn't do it."

The centrist Democrat, who has not ruled out a White House bid in 2024, did not specify his reasons for supporting McCarthy, but he said he would have voted in the Republican's favor, regardless of what his own party wanted to do.

"I can only speak for myself. If I had been a House member, I'd have been voting for Kevin McCarthy," he said.