McCarthy’s assessment comes shortly after Biden announced a last-minute ban for new drilling on certain coastlines in the United States, including along parts of the Gulf of Mexico. While the president cited “the climate crisis” in his decision, McCarthy argued that the U.S. could fix climate change by utilizing artificial intelligence and Biden is doing “the opposite on his way out.”

“You know what it is? He is mad he got pushed off the ticket,” McCarthy assessed on Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime. “And so if I can’t do it, you’re all going to be punished.”

Regarding AI, a growing phenomenon in the 2020s, McCarthy called on the U.S. to “capture” it before other countries do, arguing the U.S. cannot achieve this if it does not prioritize energy. As such, he called for the U.S. to “expand our grid” on energy to catch up with China.

McCarthy also addressed Vice President Kamala Harris’s certification of the 2024 election on Monday, commending her for being “professional” about it. Harris lost the election to President-elect Donald Trump, failing to take the Electoral College and the popular vote.

Ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the president-elect harshly condemned Biden’s drilling ban on social media, accusing him of trying to make the transfer of power as difficult as possible. Trump has previewed his administration’s intention to focus on U.S. energy over the next few years, warning Monday that Biden’s ban would be quickly “terminated.” 

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) similarly criticized Biden’s action Monday, calling it the president’s latest bid to “shut down” energy in the U.S. He also predicted that Biden’s legacy regarding energy would label him “the worst president in American history.”