Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy slammed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday over her failure to dump “prosecutors that won’t uphold the law” — as he railed against the Big Apple’s soft-on-crime policies.
The GOP leader, who was in Manhattan to host a roundtable with local law enforcement, lashed out at Hochul after her campaign put out a statement ahead of his visit calling him an “insurrection apologist.”
He accused Hochul of “playing politics” instead of trying to rid the streets of crime.
“Really?” McCarthy laughed as he was asked about Hochul’s criticism of him. “I would simply say to the governor, get rid of the prosecutors that won’t uphold the law. You have the power to do it, do it today.”
He added, “Why isn’t she here? … I came here to sit with police officers to learn how do we make the streets safer. All she wants to do is go to Twitter and make politics.
“She is the governor. And she is the governor on record that only watched homicides, rapes, robberies increase. She can do something about it.”
Ahead of McCarthy’s roundtable, Hochul took aim at him on Twitter, saying: “Thanks but no thanks. Kevin McCarthy is welcome to come back when he’s actually done something to combat gun violence and keep our communities safe — thoughts and prayers don’t count.”
Her campaign spokesman then put out a statement accusing McCarthy and GOP gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Lee Zeldin, of being “nothing more than insurrection apologists.”
“The notion that McCarthy and Zeldin support law enforcement has been thoroughly debunked by their actions on Jan. 6 and thereafter,” spokesman, Jerrel Harvey, said.
“With more than 140 officers injured during the attempted coup and five officer deaths subsequently linked to the riot inspired by Trump’s Big Lie, their hypocrisy of standing with law enforcement is glaring.
“While McCarthy and Zeldin are eager to tout their purported support for police, they will always be known as extremists who sided with insurrection over law and order.”
Following the roundtable, McCarthy suggested that New York’s controversial bail reform laws were to blame for the ongoing surge in violent crimes, calling it a “revolving door.”
McCarthy pointed to The Post’s report from Wednesday that just 10 “worst of the worst” alleged repeat offenders have accounted for nearly 500 crimes alone after the Empire State enacted its bail law.
“It’s happening across the country in these Democratic-run cities. We are watching homicides at new levels, robberies, rape continue to rise,” he said.
“Safety and security, it’s a very big issue here but it’s a big issue in every single city across America because of this progressive movement of defunding the police, electing these prosecutors who will not uphold the law.”
McCarthy spoke out after hosting discussions with leaders of the Detectives’ Endowment Association, Sergeants Benevolent Association, Captains’ Benevolent Association, Lieutenants Benevolent Association, MTA Police Benevolent Association and and Port Authority Police Benevolent Association.
Hochul has so far rejected calls to revisit bail reform legislation, insisting on Wednesday that judges should be to blame for the current crime spike.
Additional reporting by Zach Williams
