Getty Dick Cheney to endorse Kevin McCarthy



Former Vice President Dick Cheney is stepping into the suddenly feverish House speaker's race to endorse the leading candidate, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), as "a good man and a strong leader."

McCarthy has a challenge from the right, and Cheney's statement should help McCarthy with some of the hardliners, in part by giving them conservative cover to support him.


Here's the statement, issued Wednesday night, on the eve of the scheduled vote:

"We are in one of the most difficult and challenging periods of our history. It is more important than ever that we have strong conservative leadership in the House of Representatives.

"I’ve known Kevin McCarthy for many years. He is a good man and a strong leader. As a man of the House and a former member of the House leadership, I know that Kevin McCarthy is the person we need as Speaker in these dangerous and important times. Chaos is on the rise abroad. Russia is exploiting this administration’s weakness, radical Islam is gaining strength, the Middle East is falling apart, and China is asserting its authority in the absence of American strength. The Obama administration has done enormous damage to our military capability and to our relationships with key allies around the world.

"Especially when the President refuses to lead, Congress needs to step up to provide for our national defense in support of American power. Kevin McCarthy is the man who can provide that leadership."

