McCarthy issues “word of warning”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-Des Moines) issued a “word of warning” to the G.O.P. today on impeachment.  Read and hear about his remarks here.  House Speaker Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) told reporters impeachment isn’t on his “to do” list.

…House Democratic Leader Kevin McCarthy warned the G.O.P. last week that Democrats would “shut the place down” if they pursue impeachment against the four justices who remain on the Iowa Supreme Court. Today, McCarthy said Democrats are ready to tackle “bread and butter issues” that matter to “average, ordinary” Iowans.

“A word of warning, however,” McCarthy said. “If a day comes when our members show up ready to work on bread and butter issues and instead find that the house ship has steered into stormy waters, focused instead on divisive issues, then you will hear our voices as we attempt to steer that ship away from the extreme and back to the mainstream,” McCarthy said.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, a Republican from Hiawatha, told reporters early this afternoon that impeachment is not currently on his agenda. “I don’t believe one of the messages out of the election was, speaking for the electorate: ‘We fired these three.  We expect you to fire the other four,’” Paulsen said. “We’re taking input from Iowans now. If we’ve miscalculated that, then they have an opportunity to talk to us.”