Schumer blasts McCarthy, GOP after tense House Speaker election

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer is shown in this undated file photo. (Associated Press/File) **FILE** more >Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer went straight on the attack after Kevin McCarthy finally clinched his party’s vote to become Speaker of the House early Saturday.

Sidestepping the customary message of congratulations for his House counterpart, the New York Democrat warned that Mr. McCarthy’s concessions to Republican “extremists” to secure the top spot “could turn into a nightmare for the American people.”

“To get the votes, he surrendered to demands of a fringe element of the Republican party,” Mr. Schumer said. “Kevin McCarthy’s concessions to the extremists in his…