McCarthy, Kevin Owen

McCarthy, Kevin Owen, 1965–, U.S. politician, b. Bakersfield, Calif., grad. California State Univ., Bakersfield (B.S. 1989, M.B.A. 1994). A conservative Republican, he was elected to the California state assembly in 2002, serving there until 2007; he was minority leader in the assembly from 2004–6. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006, he became House majority whip in 2011. Following Eric Cantor's resignation as majority leader in 2014, he was elected to succeed him; he became minority leader in 2019. A strong supporter of President Trump, he helped lead efforts in the House to undo Biden's electoral college win.

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