House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy Friday is detailing his “Commitment to America” agenda, including policies to combat inflation, illegal immigration and only allowing women to participate in women’s sports during a press event in Monongahela, Pennsylvania.
McCarthy, R-Calif., has teased the agenda for months as pledge that can help them take back the House majority and a blueprint for governing in 2023. The agenda includes a slate of general policy recommendations in four broad categories: “An Economy That’s Strong;” “A Nation That’s Safe;” “A Future That’s Built on Freedom;” and “A Government That’s Accountable.”
The agenda follows the playbook of the “Contract With America” that helped former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., win a GOP majority in the 1990s. Gingrich will attend a meeting Thursday with Republicans as they roll out the agenda.
McCarthy sat down with GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and GOP Whip Steve Scalise on “Fox and Friends” Friday morning in Washington County, Pennsylvania, for breakfast with Americans to preview the commitment and share their message to voters ahead of the midterms.
The GOP leader said the plan is about addressing the “challenges” facing everyday Americans.
“We wanted to do a plan for a new direction. We want to be upfront with the American public. We want an election to have a contrast. If they put their trust in us, this is exactly what we’ll do. Hold our feet to the fire. And on the very first day, we’re going to repeal 87,000 IRS agents. So they’re not going after you. We work for you. You don’t work for us,” said McCarthy.
“Over the over the past two years, Democrats in Washington have led America off-track,” the preamble to McCarthy’s document reads. “They created crisis after crisis: from crippling inflation and rampant crime, to failing schools, border chaos, and disrespect for our nation across the globe.”
“The Commitment to America represents a new direction and better approach that will get our nation back on track,” it adds.
On inflation, the agenda said Republicans will “Curb wasteful government spending that is raising the price of groceries, gas, cars, and housing, and growing our national debt.”
On safety, it says the GOP will fund border security, fund police, “crack down” on leftist prosecutors and establish a “Select Committee on China.”
The agenda also promises to “Advance a Parents’ Bill of Rights,” ensure “only women can compete in women’s sports,” ban proxy voting in Congress, increase government oversight and boost domestic energy.
Republicans familiar with the plan say it’s the culmination of more than a year of work, starting with the GOP-only “China Task Force.” McCarthy liked that model and stood up several other task forces earlier this year, including on the economy, tech, health, energy and more.
Some policies Republicans are recommending in the “Commitment to America” are more specific, the Republicans familiar with the plan said. Among them is a Parents’ Bill of Rights. Others are more general, including holding progressive prosecutors accountable.
The Republicans familiar with the plan also noted the “Commitment to America” is the first GOP midterm agenda published in multiple languages, Spanish and English.
Democrats on Friday already started their attacks on McCarthy’s plan and called it an “extreme MAGA agenda.”
“House Republicans are doubling down on an extreme MAGA agenda: to criminalize women’s health care, to slash seniors’ Medicare (including with the repeal of the lower drug prices for seniors in the Inflation Reduction Act), and to attack our democracy,” according to a press release from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
McCarthy will be in Pittsburgh on Friday with other members to officially roll out the “Commitment to America.”
The agenda comes at a critical time in the midterms. Republicans have held an advantage because of the shaky economy and President Biden’s low approval ratings. But Democrats have claimed some new momentum after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court and mounting legal troubles for former President Donald Trump.
Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie contributed to this report.
