Just kidding! House GOP leader McCarthy says line about hitting Pelosi with gavel a joke

U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was awarded an oversized gavel from members of Tennessee Republican congressional delegation at the state GOP’s Statemen’s Dinner in Nashville on Saturday night.

McCarthy quipped that “it will be hard not to hit” current Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with it if he takes over from her after next year’s elections.

NBC reports the comment has sparked outrage among Democrats in Congress. Meanwhile, a McCarthy spokesman says he was “obviously joking.”

Drew Hamill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, tweeted that a “threat of violence to someone who was a target of a #January6th assassination attempt from your fellow Trump supporters is irresponsible and disgusting.”

Read the Tennessean’s account of the fundraiser here and Main Street Nashville’s here.