Leaked McCarthy Comments Trump Complicates His Tasks As Speaker of the House

Representative Kevin McCarthy has almost become Home Speakers and failed – forced to withdraw from the competitive race at the last minute of 2015 amid opposition from conservatives.

He’s spent years since trying to make sure nothing gets in his way the next time – mostly by flirting Donald Trump in the hope that his wobble over Republican membership would frighten potential opponents and lock in the votes needed for the biggest prize in congressional politics.

But as Republicans grow increasingly confident that they will secure control of the House in November, McCarthy’s future is suddenly in doubt, his ambitions quelled by revelations that he has been privately offend a man who demands undisguised loyalty.

This week, new recordings of McCarthy’s private conversations with Republican members after the January 6 attacks show him appalled by Trump’s actions as his supporters ransacked him. United States Capitol. In one excerpt, McCarthy said, “I had it with this guy. What he did is unacceptable.” He was also recorded telling Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., that he would advise Trump to resign or he would be fired.

It’s been a fast-paced drama that so far has largely played out behind closed doors. Whether McCarthy can survive the latest twists in the race he wants to win remains unclear. So far, most Republican lawmakers show no sign of abandoning him.

But much depends on Trump. He has yet to make a public statement about McCarthy or indicate that he could throw his weight behind another candidate. A Trump spokesman said he would have no comment.

But in an interview on Friday with The Wall Street JournalTrump said there was no malice between him and McCarthy, even after the recordings surfaced.

“He made a phone call. I heard the call. I didn’t like this call,” Trump said, before quickly adding that McCarthy flew down to Florida to meet him just weeks later in January to show his support.

“The support is very strong,” he added.

Asked if he would still endorse McCarthy for the speaker position if the Republicans win a majority in November, Trump was less direct.

“Well, I don’t know if anyone else is running, and I think I actually have a very good relationship with him,” Trump said. “I like him. And beyond that brief period, I suspect that he’s quite fond of me.”

A person close to Trump told NBC News that McCarthy phoned the former president and apologized for his leaked remarks to Cheney.

“He said he was appeasing Liz and he was paying for her lip services,” said the person who spoke to Trump about the call. “Trump isn’t really mad. He’s got other things on his mind. He accepts Kevin for who he is. It’s not that he really trusts him.”

Another person close to Trump said Friday that the former president is not upset about McCarthy’s remarks and that “unless something else drops,” Trump is unlikely to give up McCarthy for another member to do. Speakers. McCarthy’s disgust with Trump’s actions on January 6 is no mystery. He appeared on the floor of the House of Representatives a week after the Capitol riots and told the world that Trump “must be held accountable.”

“He’s so used to people bashing him,” this person said.

Many Republicans will keep an eye on Mar-a-Lago for more signals that could decide McCarthy’s fate.

“These things usually go one of two ways,” Representative Kelly Armstrong, R., ND, said before Trump’s interview with The Wall Street Journal was published. “We’ll see how it plays out.” However, he added that the sound “didn’t upset me” about McCarthy.

McCarthy is navigating the uproar in a time when Republicans have more factions than they did in 2015. when he tried to succeed John Boehner as speaker. Now, the caucus has a conservative side and a pro-Trump faction. There are some as proud as Trump and others who quietly reject him. Add to the mix Cheney, who has become a symbol of the anti-Trump movement and could lose her parliamentary seats as a result.

New York Times was first reported on Thursday about McCarthy’s private discussions, publishing an excerpt from a new book claiming he wanted Trump to resign in the days after the January 6 riots.

McCarthy flatly refused. Report “totally untrue” he tweeted on Thursday.

But before a day ends, a Record of conversation emerged. McCarthy, speaking on a call with Republican leadership in the House of Representatives, was heard that he thought the Senate would vote to remove Trump from office and would therefore offer him his resignation.

‘In Trump’s ears’

Some of Trump’s most staunch supporters in Congress have already shown affection for McCarthy, and the recordings will likely only strengthen that sentiment. “There are always people in Trump’s ear who say you can’t trust Kevin,” said one person close to Trump.

Representative Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a Trump loyalist who has repeatedly questioned McCarthy’s leadership, tweeted Friday: “While I was rallying in Wyoming against Liz Cheney… Kevin McCarthy defended Liz Cheney among House Republicans.”

Gaetz represents only a minority of House Republicans. The other members quickly lined up behind McCarthy. The One House ally said McCarthy remained “very strong” during the GOP conference and accused Cheney – who was being called – of leaking audio, but provided no evidence of that. Her office has denied that allegation.

“He’s going to be the speaker,” McCarthy’s ally said.

And after hearing the leaked audio, a conservative member of the Freedom Caucus, Representative Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., actually supported McCarthy. DesJarlais explained that the days after the January 6 attacks were a confusing time, saying that McCarthy had made the assumption that Trump could be impeached by the Senate (Trump was acquitted more than a month later). there).

“McCarthy has always been approachable, available, fair and respectful,” DesJarlais told NBC News. “I think he would be a solid, effective speaker.”

A Republican in the Third House, Ashley Hinson of Iowa, tweeted that “Republicans will regain their majority in November and when we do, Kevin McCarthy will be our speaker.”

Another revelation that could jeopardize McCarthy’s bid was his comment – reported by The New York Times – that some GOP lawmakers should lose their Twitter accounts.

It’s a sensitive issue for many conservatives, who argue that tech companies censored speech by canceling Trump’s account or muting conservatives like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene , R-Ga, for violating their terms of service.

When asked about that comment, Armstrong said he was more concerned that McCarthy’s comments had been recorded and leaked. The publicity of what was supposed to be a private conversation made it difficult for lawmakers to speak frankly with each other, he said.

“There were a lot of members who didn’t really like their private conversations recorded” around the time of the January 6 attacks. He added that many were “emotional” at the time. That point, “I’m one of them.”

‘Grandfather. Hollywood’

McCarthy can’t afford to watch his alliance with Trump break down when the speaker job he’s long coveted is finally within his grasp. Steve Schmidt, a top adviser to John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign who became a vocal critic of Trump and the current Republican Party, recalls a conversation with McCarthy when he was first appointed. elected to Congress from California in 2006. “You’ll be at the helm for three terms,” Schmidt said he told him.

“You think it will take a long time?” McCarthy replied.

McCarthy spent years trying to align with Trump after Trump took office in 2016. When Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives in 2018, McCarthy became the Republican leader and quickly consolidated tried to become the president’s strongest ally in his congressional leadership.

Trump hasn’t been shy about inserting himself into the internal Republican politics of the Republican Party on Capitol Hill. He has been a vocal critic of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, although he has yet to get McConnell ousted from his leadership position.

“Look, Trump is a fact,” Newt Gingrich, a former Republican speaker in the House, told NBC News. “If you’re going to run a collective body like the House, it’s easier to run it as a Republican with Trump on your side than with Trump against you.”

McCarthy last year hired Trump’s former White House political director for a similar role in his own store. He flew to Mar-a-Lago and posed for pictures. When Cheney insulted Trump with her nagging criticisms, McCarthy moved to remove her from leadership of the Republican Party and then Congress, endorsing her opponent in the Party primaries. Republic in Wyoming.

All the respect seems to pay off. Trump nicknamed him “Mr. Hollywood” — presumably a reference to his tousled silver hair — and he would call McCarthy from the golf course to show him off potential endorsements.

“Kevin kissed his ass,” said the person close to Trump. “Frankly, he went down there [to Mar-a-Lago] and… say what he needs to say. And he was smart to do it because there was a time when he almost got knocked out.”

If Trump ever excommunicated McCarthy, many ambitious House Republicans could step in and challenge the speaker’s work.

Republican Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana has long been seen as the man quietly waiting for his chance to usurp McCarthy. Cheney could also keep an eye on the post-Trump world. The conservative wing wants to see Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio elevated. And Representative Elise Stefanik of New York has been seen as a rising star in the party after she replaced Cheney in the leadership role.

“In terms of politics, things can change tomorrow. And there’s some uncertainty, there’s some unknowns there,” said one GOP lawmaker, who requested anonymity to discuss the ongoing leadership speculation.

“Trump could change a dime and try to fight him.”

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here