Valley residents don’t matter, thanks to Kevin McCarthy’s shameful exit from Congress | Opinion

U.S. Congressional District 20 residents voted on Tuesday to elect someone to replace “My Kevin” McCarthy, former speaker of the House of Representatives (“My Kevin” is how former President Trump referred to him).

Since his shameful resignation on Dec. 31, constituents like myself have had no congressman in the House and in effect, have been disenfranchised from participating in the democratic process. Since “My Kevin” left, there have been consequential votes in Congress where there no was voice for the almost 800,000 residents living in the 20th District, which covers large parts of Kern, Tulare, Kings and Fresno counties.

The special primary election was held to determine the replacement for McCarthy’s empty seat through the end of his term into January 2025. Since there was no majority winner, the two candidates with the most votes will run against each other on May 21.

Potentially, the duration for District 20 residents without a member in the House will be 142 days, almost 40 percent of the calendar year. Already, we have had no representation during the entire second session of Congress.

The enormous effects of not having a congressional representative in office are insulting. This lack of representation is made even more profound because for three weeks after “My Kevin” was ousted as speaker in October, the House operated in limbo until Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was chosen as his replacement. The people’s work was stalled due to the turmoil in the Republican party.

There have been significant and historical votes taken since “My Kevin’s” resignation:

▪ On Feb. 13, the house impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the first sitting cabinet member to be impeached. District 20 had no vote.

▪ When the House failed to pass a crucial stand-alone package of $17.6 billion for Israel aid on Feb. 6, District 20 had no vote.

▪ When Republican Rep. George Santos from New York was disgracefully ejected from the House for scandalous conduct, District 20 had no vote.

▪ When the two congressional committees voted to hold President Biden’s son, Hunter, for contempt of Congress, District 20 had no voice in the matter.

Even when matters affected national security, District 20 had no say. In February, a bipartisan bill, the Defending Borders and Defending Democracies Act, was passed in the Senate. The bill contains aid to support Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific. It also provides significant protection for the southern border. Speaker Johnson has refused to send the bill up for a vote in the House. No one from District 20 is present to lobby, argue, or demand that Johnson bring the bill to the floor.

Some may argue that only Democrats were disenfranchised since “My Kevin” would have voted with the majority Republicans any way, making his absence moot. However, that argument falls short when one considers “My Kevin” may have put on his bipartisan hat and advocated for the Senate bill. After all, he orchestrated a bipartisan budget framework to keep the government open before he quit.

Also, it is absurd to think political representation matters only when your side wins. That’s like saying the Supreme Court should not have dissenting votes or opinions.

It is difficult to determine if my Kevin’s departure was for personal or political reasons. If it was personal, he did not demonstrate the courage and conviction displayed by two of his colleagues. On the first vote to impeach Mayorkas, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was wheeled into the chambers after undergoing surgery. On the second impeachment vote, Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) braved his return after cancer treatment.

While “My Kevin” suffered through 15 separate and embarrassing votes to finally win the speakership in January 2023, he could not muster enough mettle to stay and vote on matters that really mattered.

Conversely, the resignation appears political. It would be naïve to think “My Kevin” resigned without knowing it would set the stage for the election of his former aide, Vincent Fong to replace him.

Until District 20 gets representation, there will be a feeling that we are irrelevant.