Kevin McCarthy gives cheeky answer for his newest government gig

Former House Speaker and Rep. Kevin McCarthy has barely been out of office and yet he’s already lined up his next government gig: jury duty.

The Bakersfield Republican posted on his social media accounts Tuesday that he was putting an end to questions about his next step after leaving Congress in December.

“There’s been a lot of speculation about what I’m going to do next,” he wrote. “I’m ready to end the rumors. I’m on jury duty!”

U.S. law exempts elected officials from having to attend jury duty. Just days after retiring from public office, McCarthy, however, was welcomed back to private life with a summons from the Kern County courts, and unlike the subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee, he did not defy it.

McCarthy announced his abrupt resignation from Congress in early December, just months after a small group of Republicans aligned with Democrats to oust McCarthy from his role as leader of the House. After the history-making vote, McCarthy swatted down rumors that he would seek the position again. McCarthy served as the 55th speaker of the House for 269 days. His 16 years in Congress came to an end Dec. 31.

The former congressman has been tight-lipped about his next steps as a private citizen, though with his fundraising prowess and experience as a state and federal lawmaker, many have speculated he will remain politically involved from the private sector. His first move after leaving Capitol Hill, though, was to get a taste of a different branch of government.