McCarthy calls on incoming Democrats to embrace bipartisanship, not 'food fight' or investigations

[deurbano]

60. Investigate "My Kevin's" in-laws for fraudulently claiming to be Native Americans in order

to procure millions of dollars from federal contracts in Kevin's district!

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/mccarthys-in-laws-made-millions-off-dubious-native-american-heritage-claim

A construction company owned by the in-laws of House Republican second-in-command Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was awarded more than $7 million in federal contracts since 2000 based on a “dubious” claim of Native American heritage, the Los Angeles Times reported in a lengthy investigation Sunday.

William Wages, whose sister Judy is married to McCarthy, the House Majority Leader, claims he is one-eighth Cherokee. He is a member of the Northern Cherokee Nation, which is not a federally-recognized tribe and which the Times reported is considered a fraud by tribes that are federally recognized.

The company, Vortex, also employs McCarthy’s father-in-law and sister-in-law, and his mother-in-law is a co-owner. McCarthy’s wife stepped down as a partner in 1995, which William Wages said was to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest with McCarthy.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) accepted Wages’ claim of Native American heritage in 1998, making his company eligible for federal contracts designated for “socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.”

Contracts for projects at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, which sits at the edge of McCarthy’s district, made up the majority of the $7 million in no-bid and “other federal contracts,” the Times found....

Cherokee genealogist David Cornsilk called Northern Cherokee Nation “very much a con.”

Wages and McCarthy both denied McCarthy having any involvement in the construction business, though McCarthy has supported millions in funding for programs at China Lake....

Wages, the Times said, acknowledged not participating in Cherokee culture growing up. But he has claimed in state filings, under penalty of perjury, that he had been “subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias, or have suffered the effects of discrimination, because of my identity.”