Kevin McCarthy

The latest audio of private conversations between House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and his Republican colleagues regarding the ...

In other words, he must grovel or lie his way out of trouble if he is to lead this party of unfit characters. If so, he’ll scamper after Carlson and cut McCarthy loose — thereby demonstrating that neither he nor McCarthy is the true leader of the party. McCarthy for a time also seemed to understand some of his own members betrayed their country and posed a danger to other members. The Republicans he privately denigrates know exactly what he thinks of them. To recap, McCarthy knew Trump was responsible for the attempted coup and suggested (although not to Trump) that he resign. To make matters worse, Gaetz in a tweet condemned McCarthy and GOP whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), who was also caught on tape:

Driving the news: McCarthy, in a call with fellow Republican leaders four days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, expressed serious concern about the comments some ...

He received applause as well, the source said. - Others claimed ignorance about the audio. "I only voted for Kevin once." "I'm the only guy or gal here who never voted for [former Speakers] John Boehner or Paul Ryan," he said. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy in the days after the Capitol riot feared that comments made by far-right members of Congress were "putting people in jeopardy," according to audio recordings obtained by the New York Times. - McCarthy specifically made the case that what was published paints an incomplete picture of the call, that he was speaking in hypotheticals and that he never trashes his members publicly. A massive tranche of texts from former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows obtained by CNN shows how former President Trump's allies went from pleading for a stop to the violence on Jan. 6 to affirming their support for Trump in the aftermath. - Gaetz, in astatement posted to Twitter, characterized the call as "sniveling" and said of McCarthy and Scalise, "This is the behavior of weak men, not leaders." The bottom line: The rank-and-file affirmed their support for McCarthy by giving him a standing ovation when he defended his past comments during a GOP conference meeting Wednesday morning, according to a source in the room. House Republicans are closing ranks around Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy after the New York Times published audio of a call four days after the Capitol riot in which he voiced support for some of his members losing access to Twitter. Driving the news: McCarthy, in a call with fellow Republican leaders four days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, expressed serious concern about the comments some of his members have made, according to the audio. - Gaetz, McCarthy said, was "putting people in jeopardy" by going on TV to attack Republicans as "anti-Trump." Scalise said his remarks were "potentially illegal."

It's the darnedest gizmo,” the congressman said. “You speak into it, and then it can play your voice back, clear as day. I can't for the life of me figure ...

“It really is a game changer.” “I know this sounds crazy, but, if somebody figures out how to put a camera into a phone, look out,” he warned. “It’s the darnedest gizmo,” he said.

The GOP leader talked about reigning in violent commentary by Matt Gaetz and others, then realized it wouldn't be politically popular and did nothing.

While I was protecting President Trump from impeachment, they were protecting Liz Cheney from criticism.” Gaetz did not add that, in the end, McCarthy voted against impeaching Trump, or that he helped oust Cheney from GOP leadership. On Tuesday evening, Gaetz released a statement addressing the latest report, saying, “Rep. McCarthy and Rep. Scalise held views about President Trump and me that they shared on sniveling calls with Liz Cheney, not us. Nobody accuses this guy of thinking of doing the right thing before he reassesses how it will affect his career and does absolutely jack shit, ya hear?! Following the Capitol attack, McCarthy was deeply—and reasonably!— concerned that numerous far-right members of Congress would provoke violence against fellow lawmakers, by riling up the base with inflammatory attacks on their colleagues for not supporting Trump’s attempted coup, among other things. And now, for the second time in less than week, the Times has provided yet more evidence that McCarthy momentarily had a conscience for a few days in January 2021, before apparently deciding that doing the right thing wouldn’t be politically popular with his party, or help his chances of one day being speaker of the House. (At the rally that preceded the insurrection, Brooks told Trump supporters to “start taking down names and kicking ass,” while Gaetz went on TV post–1/6 to attack multiple Republicans who’d criticized Trump for inciting the riot that left five people dead.) “He’s putting people in jeopardy,” McCarthy said of Gaetz, noting that he was going to speak with the Florida congressman about attacking colleagues by name.

Trump says things are fine between the two men. But McCarthy should know better than anyone that politicians lie.

As for Trump, the former president told the Wall Street Journal that things are copacetic between him and McCarthy. But how long will that last? For now, it looks like most of the GOP is sticking by McCarthy. Still, he’d be a fool to mistake his closed-door, standing ovation for an indication that the knives aren’t out. But McCarthy’s standing grew even more tenuous after the Times dropped yet another bombshell recording on Tuesday revealing McCarthy had been seriously concerned that some of the GOP’s far-right characters—namely Matt Gaetz and Mo Brooks—could incite further violence.

'We will have a Republican Congress led by a puppet of the Democratic Party' says Tucker Carlson.

To force disobedient lawmakers off the internet.” Start your Independent Premium subscription today. But McCarthy wanted the tech oligarchs to do more.

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who is likely to be the next Speaker, was right to worry about Trump and his minions after January 6. Since he didn't act, ...

The Californian has, after all, been exceptionally careful not to get sideways with fractious members like Greene and Paul Gosar when they’ve gotten way out of line. Among the inconvenient facts that keep coming out is that McCarthy freaked out about what was happening around him in January 2021 and said things that, if amplified, would displease the noisy MAGA faction of his caucus and threaten the slim hold on power he is likely to have next year. After the latest leak came out, Fox News host Tucker Carlson called McCarthy a “puppet of the Democratic Party” and “a man who, in private, sounds like an MSNBC contributor.” Maybe McCarthy can keep the peace within the GOP long enough to get through the midterms, but if he emerges with a tiny margin of control next year, he’ll take that gavel knowing it could be knocked from his hand at any moment by his most extremist members. Just over six months before the 2022 midterm elections, you have to figure House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy can practically feel the weight of the Speaker’s gavel in his hand. But he and his allies discussed several other representatives who made comments they saw as offensive or dangerous, including Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Barry Moore of Alabama. So even as Trump looks back at the power he lost in 2020, the GOP Establishment wants to look ahead to their own restored power.

Tapes prove McCarthy has a conscience — that he ignores. Image: Kevin McCarthy outside the U.S. Capitol. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy ...

What makes it worse is that they raise the possibility that these people could choose differently, but they aren't willing to put anything before their immediate self-interest — and the rest of us have to pay the price. But the Trump era really laid bare the “House of Cards” caucus of the GOP. Seeing one ambitious Republican after another reinvent and contort themselves has been sobering. And it’s jarring to know that a person who demonstrated he clearly knew better — who demonstrated a conscience and an ability to reason about the common good — still went ahead with what was politically expedient. “He’s putting people in jeopardy,” McCarthy said of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who was appearing on television after Jan. 6 as a pro-Trump attack dog and criticizing Cheney. “And he doesn’t need to be doing this. But new reporting, and the ongoing release of audio recordings of Republican congressional leaders expressing private anxiety and anger about former President Donald Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot, has gifted us with one of those rare opportunities to observe the difference between what’s felt and what’s said. The first piece of reporting from The New York Times, published Thursday, revealed that McCarthy, R-Calif., was not only fed up with the then-president, but thought Trump should voluntarily resign.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) defended himself Wednesday in his first face-to-face encounter with House Republicans after audio recordings ...

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) said he is “absolutely” comfortable with the possibility of a McCarthy speakership. McCarthy initially denied the Times report about his remarks, calling it “totally false and wrong.” After the Times released the audio of the phone call, McCarthy told reporters that he “never thought that [Trump] should resign.” He has since dodged questions on the topic. In a report Tuesday night, the New York Times detailed McCarthy’s comments to fellow Republican leaders about several members of the House GOP conference days after the Jan. 6 attack. Two House Republicans said Gaetz was the only lawmaker to criticize McCarthy during the meeting. “Nobody cares.” Also the American people want to hear answers. Because unless you’re a member of the press, nobody gives a damn about January 6,” Grothman said. He added of McCarthy: “I support him for speaker. On Monday, McCarthy claimed that the Times had asked him whether he had urged Trump to resign. “All of us were trying to make sense of, you know, what happened, why did it happen, why didn’t we stop it? “But I can tell you this: Every member had a similar process, whether they were recorded or not.” According to one of the lawmakers, Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.), Gaetz “spoke up and he was angry.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has drawn little fire from his Republican colleagues since audio recordings revealed that he blamed then-President ...

They signaled that they would support his bid for speaker if Republicans win the House in November, The Post reported. On Tuesday, the Times published another portion of the call, in which McCarthy discussed plans to rein in GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Mo Brooks of Alabama over their comments following the insurrection. After the audio leak, Trump told the Wall Street Journal that McCarthy’s loyalty was a “big compliment,” adding that he and McCarthy are still on good terms.