McCarthy defends attending his son’s wedding amid peak of pandemic in December

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is defending his decision to attend his son’s wedding in California in early December amid the resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the state, writing in a Facebook post he didn’t regret the decision.

In the post, he said the original plan for his son to have 300-guest wedding was ditched for a smaller wedding with just “parents, grandparents, and sisters.”

He said in the post — which was a direct response to a Los Angeles Times report — that his family took “every precaution to ensure a safe celebration.”

“We spent the majority of the time outside with the dinner following the ceremony in an almost completely open area. We wore masks indoors that day, except in those instances where some had to let makeup dry or when we were eating. We were respectful of the event staff and each other — on the day of the event and the lead-up as well,” he said.

The wedding took place on December 5 in San Luis Obispo County, which was under a limited stay at home order at the time prohibiting gatherings between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. except for essential workers.

The California Republican shared a video of the wedding on February 6 on his official Facebook page, which revealed about a dozen or so maskless attendees outside for the ceremony.

Another video shows the attendees, as well as the groom and bride, indoors without face masks as well.

McCarthy slammed the Times for publishing the story, saying in his statement: “This isn’t the first time the LA Times has targeted my family and it likely won’t be the last. But I won’t let the LA Times intimidate me, my family, or any Californian who works hard and lives their life as they think is best.”

He added: “Unfortunately, the media we are supposed to trust continue to discredit themselves by obsessing over things like this. And, I might add, they usually obsess based on your party registration.”

McCarthy’s office did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

His statement comes after McCarthy himself criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after she was caught on a security camera not wearing a face mask at a San Francisco salon when salons were ordered closed.

“Nancy Pelosi doesn’t think the rules apply to her. She thinks she deserves special treatment,” he said at the time.

He also criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, for a gathering at a restaurant in Yountville, California.