Donald Trump, Mike Pence’s Brother Greg Praise Kevin McCarthy’s

Former President Donald Trump and the brother of former Vice President Mike Pence praised House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy‘s lengthy speech on the House floor that stretched from Thursday night into the early hours of Friday, the Associated Press reported.

McCarthy spoke for more than eight hours, stalling the passage of President Joe Biden‘s sweeping domestic policy bill while decrying the state of the nation and his Democratic political opponents.

Though McCarthy’s address sparked ridicule from some, others lauded the effort. Trump said in a statement issued Friday that McCarthy had done a “great job” in “setting a record by going over eight hours of speaking on the House Floor in order to properly oppose Communism.”

“We must never forget what the Democrats have done, at the highest level of evil,” Trump’s statement said.

The former president also took a jab at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying that if the Kentucky lawmaker “had fought, you would have a different Republican President right now.”

Greg Pence, a Republican representative from Indiana, also backed McCarthy’s speech.

“Loved it,” Greg Pence said. “This is a historical moment for Kevin, for sure.”

Dozens of Republicans present during the speech urged on McCarthy, while some Democrats booed. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who previously held the record for the longest speech in the lower chamber, said that “I didn’t even pay attention” to it.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

Far from the “happy conservative” he claimed to be, the California Republican debuted a new role: angry heir to the Donald Trump legacy, picking up where the former president left off, mercilessly attacking his political opponents and their ideas with a ferocity that is rare even for the divided halls of Congress. The speech was a fact-checker’s bonanza.

“If I sound angry, I am,” he said as the speech began.

“I’m just getting geared up, go just sit,” he said several hours later. At another point, he said, “I know you don’t like me, but that’s OK.”

The drawn-out speech provided a politically pained capstone to an extremely tense week in what has been one of the more divisive and dangerous years in Congress.

Monday started with celebration, a rare bipartisan achievement, as Biden signed the related $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law. By midweek the House censured one of its own, Representative Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), for posting a graphic video depicting violence against fellow elected officials. And as Friday began,…