Ill Kentucky lawmaker decides not to run again for House leadership role
Kentucky House Majority Floor Leader John “Bam” Carney, who has battled a severe case of pancreatitis and infection for nearly a year, voted this week from his room at Select Specialty Hospital in Danville on who should lead House Republicans for the next two years.
His name was not on the ballot. He decided not to seek the position.
“The majority floor leader is an important member of our leadership team, however, we understand his decision not to seek a leadership post this term,” said House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect.
“In fact, I think it speaks volumes about his commitment to his district and the people he serves. Rep. Carney will continue to be a valued member of the House and I greatly appreciate his counsel and wisdom as we continue our work.”
Carney, a Republican from Campbellsville who has represented the 51st House District made up of Taylor and Adair counties since 2009, has been hospitalized since Dec. 23. He spent 65 days in intensive care in a Louisville hospital.
Carney, an educator, won re-election for another two-year term to the House earlier this month, capturing about 79 percent of the vote over Democrat Richard Steele.
Carney, 51, began serving as House majority leader in 2019 after chairing the House Education Committee.
House Republicans on Thursday selected Rep. Steven Rudy, R-Paducah, to replace Carney as majority floor leader. Rudy has been filling in for Carney and is chairman of the powerful House Appropriations and Revenue Committee. It was not announced who will head that committee for the next two years.
The House Republicans also re-elected their other leaders: Speaker Osborne; Speaker Pro Tem David Meade, R-Stanford; Majority Caucus Chair Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro; and Majority Whip Chad McCoy, R-Bardstown.
Legislative leaders determine the flow of bills in the chamber, which Republicans will control 75-25. The majority floor leader handles the bills in each meeting of the House.
In a post Wednesday night on his Facebook page, Carney’s brother, Mark Carney, said the lawmaker “got papers ready and sent them in to participate in the Republican caucus elections tomorrow.”
Mark Carney said his brother was “still at Select Specialty, which is in Ephriam McDowell in Danville.“ Select Specialty is a specialized acute care hospital that promotes recovery from critical and complex medical and surgical conditions. Ephraim McDowell is a regional medical center.
Mark Carney said the family hoped to get his brother into a rehab facility in Elizabethtown but was told last week that it is not accepting any new patients at this time because some staff has tested positive for COVID-19.
“Just another example of how we have often been reminded that it is all in God’s timing,” said Mark Carney.
He said he enjoyed “just talking” with his brother, who sent a birthday text to a friend and texted some family members.
For the first time since the illness, said Mark Carney, his brother “did over half of the shaving his self.”
Carney remains on dialysis twice a week and infection levels have been good for the last two weeks, said the brother.
Mark Carney asked for continued prayers for his brother.
Senate Republicans, who will control that chamber 30-8, recently selected their leadership, making no changes. House and Senate Democrats are to choose their leaders in December. The Kentucky 2021 General Assembly begins Jan. 5.
