McCarthy sidesteps question on Speaker Johnson's leadership during Capitol Hill visit

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CAPITOL HILL – Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., offered mild praise for his successor on Tuesday during a rare appearance back on Capitol Hill.

McCarthy told Fox News Digital he was in Washington for Monday night's swearing-in of his former aide, newly minted Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., who won a tight race to replace him.

McCarthy said he was also there for a press conference commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

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When asked by another reporter whether he thought Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was doing a "good job," McCarthy said, "Johnson is working as hard as he can."

McCarthy became the first House speaker in history to be ousted in the middle of a congressional term last October, when a group of eight House Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to remove him from power. He left Congress at the end of 2023.

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Johnson was elected via a unanimous House GOP vote three weeks later after days of chaos and turmoil that paralyzed Congress.

The Louisiana Republican survived a similar threat just last month in a push led by two of McCarthy's top allies in the House, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

In that instance, dozens of Democrats joined Republicans to table Greene's