House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) claimed Thursday that he called then-President Donald Trump on Jan. 6 because he would not have known about the riot otherwise.
McCarthy made the remarks to CNN correspondent Melanie Zanona.
“When I called the president, I was telling him about what was happening in the Capitol, because none of you would know unless you were in the Capitol,” McCarthy said. Continue reading.
A furious Amanda Carpenter ripped into the senior leadership of the Republican Party for tearing the GOP apart over fears of former president Donald Trump.
The conservative CNN commentator who once served as speechwriter to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was responding to a report from CNN’s Melanie Zanona that states that rank and file Republicans want Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) punished for taking part in the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6th Capitol riot.
According to the conservative commentator, Republicans are “screwed” unless someone in leadership stands up to Trump. Continue reading.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has decided not to participate in the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot on the Capitol, yanking all of his GOP picks in protest of Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s (D-Calif.) decision to reject two top Republicans.
“Unless Speaker Pelosi reverses course and seats all five Republican nominees, Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts,” he said in a statement.
A Pelosi spokesman quickly shot down the possibility that Pelosi might reverse course. Continue reading.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday rejected two of the Republican picks — Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Jim Banks (Ind.) — for the Jan. 6 select committee.
Both GOP lawmakers are staunch allies of former President Trump, and both had voted in January against certifying President Biden‘s election victory.
In a statement, Pelosi said Democrats in her caucus had raised specific objections to Jordan and Banks “and the impact their appointments may have on the integrity of the investigation.” Continue reading.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) faces a daunting task as he weighs his options for appointing Republicans to a special committee to investigate the Capitol attack of Jan. 6.
Formally, his picks need approval from Democratic leaders, who wrote the rules for the panel. Informally, McCarthy’s choices can’t upset former President Trump, who remains the party’s kingmaker. And internally, they can’t alienate one faction of McCarthy’s conference or another, which could threaten his chances of becoming Speaker if the House flips in next year’s midterm elections.
Yet there’s a fourth complication, as well: A number of lawmakers say they’re simply not interested in being on the committee. Continue reading.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is furiously claiming that a newly authorized select committee to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection will be “the least bipartisan committee you can find.” But just seven years ago, he voted for a nearly identical investigation into attacks against the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012.
On Fox News on Thursday night, McCarthy (R-CA) was asked about the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, created last Wednesday by a majority vote in the House of Representatives over his objections.
“Think about the structure. It’s not an equal number of Republicans or Democrats,” McCarthy complained. “She [House Speaker Nancy Pelosi] appointed [Reps.] Adam Schift [sic] and [Jamie] Raskin. This is a impeachment committee. Only Democrats have subpoena power. The speaker has control over anyone who is appointed. She appoints everyone, just with ‘consultation’ with Republicans.” Continue reading.
According to a report from CNN’s Melanie Zanona, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) still fears publicly criticizing some of the extremist members of his caucus and, behind the scenes, has assigned a staff member to advise Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on how to dig herself out after she goes too far with her inflammatory comments.
According to CNN’s “New Day” host Brianna Keilar, “A top adviser to House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was involved in a behind the scenes effort to rehabilitate the reputation of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. This adviser facilitated Taylor Greene’s visit to the Holocaust Memorial from last month after which she publicly apologized for her anti-semitic remarks.”
“Here is the thing though,” the CNN host added. “That remorse didn’t stick. She invoked Nazi-era imagery again this week to mock Covid safety practices.” Continue reading.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally met with a police officer who is still out on medical leave after being brutally attacked during Donald Trump’s January 6th insurrection.
“I asked him specifically for a commitment to denounce that publicly. And he said that he would address it at a personal level, with some of those members. But again, I think that as a leader of the House Republican, or I’m sorry, as the leader of the House Republican Party, it’s important to hear those denouncements publicly,” DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone said.
When asked how the meeting went after leaving McCarthy’s office, Fanone replied, “I need a drink.” Continue reading.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is facing calls to boot Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) out of the GOP conference for her remarks comparing COVID-19 mask and vaccine rules to the genocide of 6 million Jews during World War II.
“Just stop. This is demented and dangerous. There is no comparison,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) tweeted at Greene Tuesday after she doubled down on her Holocaust comparison.
“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: while we cannot stop her from calling herself a Republican, we can and should refuse to let her caucus with the @HouseGOP.” Continue reading.
“I don’t think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election. I think that is all over with. We’re sitting here with the president today, so, from that point of view, I don’t think that’s a problem.”
— House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), in response to a reporter’s question outside the White House, May 12, 2021
McCarthy had just spent 90 minutes in a White House meeting with President Biden, Vice President Harris and the other congressional leaders when he made these remarks. All participants agreed the discussion on how to fund infrastructure investments was cordial.
Under the old rules of Washington decorum, a gaggle with reporters immediately after the meeting was perhaps not the best time for the House Republican leader to question Biden’s legitimacy as president.
But if that was his calculus, McCarthy was decorous to a fault. Continue reading.
