Tag: Rep. McCarthy

Trump demanded McConnell and McCarthy oppose Jan. 6 commission. They are dutifully complying

AlterNet Logo

Donald Trump, the former president, Tuesday night in a blog post called on the top two Congressional Republicans to put an end to “discussions” to form a commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection and attempted coup that he incited.

They are complying.

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Tuesday afternoon had expressed “surprising” opennessto a January 6 commission, several news sources reported, but by Tuesday evening the Senate Minority Leader told reporters he is “pushing the pause button.”

House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has been opposed to the commission since early Tuesday, some say due to his possible involvement in the lead up to the deadly riots that day. Continue reading.

Reporters fact-check McCarthy for saying he doesn’t ‘think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the election’

AlterNet Logo

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is facing a fierce fact-check from journalists after making another revisionist claim about his party’s response to the 2020 election.

On Wednesday, May 12, McCarthy spoke to reporters after attending a meeting with President Joe Biden. While speaking to reporters, the California lawmaker said, “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.”

The perplexing comment quickly caught the attention of reporters who jumped at the opportunity to fact-check McCarthy for his inaccurate claims. On May 7, former President Donald Trump called the election the “Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020” in a message to his supporters. Continue reading.

Allies of GOP leader vow to oust Liz Cheney

The Hill logo

Top allies of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are vowing to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), one of the harshest critics of former President Trump in either party, from her leadership post by the end of the month.

They argue that the No. 3 Republican has repeatedly contradicted McCarthy and his team, undermining the party’s message and its efforts to take back the House majority in next year’s midterm elections.

“There is no way that Liz will be conference chair by month’s end,” one key McCarthy ally told The Hill on Monday. “When there is a vote, it won’t be a long conference; it will be fast. Everyone knows the outcome.” Continue reading.

Watch: GOP leader McCarthy squirms as Chris Wallace grills him on Trump’s seditious Jan. 6 behavior

AlterNet Logo

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Sunday disputed allegations that President Donald Trump reached out to him to coordinate an alibi after the Capitol was attacked by Trump-supporting insurrectionists on Jan. 6.

Fox News host Chris Wallace confronted McCarthy about a telephone call he had with Trump soon after the attack on the Capitol was underway.

“Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” Trump reportedly told McCarthy at the time, according to Rep. Herrera Beutler (R-WA). Continue reading.

The fading GOP establishment moves to support Cheney as Trump attacks and McCarthy keeps his distance

Washington Post logo

Following her vote to impeach Donald Trump, Rep. Liz Cheney has received a groundswell of financial support from the most powerful figures in traditional GOP politics and the corporate world.

Inside her nearly $1.6 million haul in three months, Cheney (R-Wyo.) secured financial backing from dozens of alumni of both Bush administrations, including a couple of Cabinet members and, not surprisingly, her parents, Richard and Lynne Cheney. More than 10 current and former members of the House cut checks to her campaign, including former speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and a handful of other Republicans who voted to impeach the former president during the Jan. 13 vote.

Five GOP senators donated to Cheney, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Continue reading.

Kevin McCarthy argued GOP is the party of Abraham Lincoln, not racism. It did not go well

Raw Story Logo

After four years of a Republican President who worked almost daily to spread or lend support to racism, white nationalism, or white supremacism – including having top advisors inside the White House who embraced those ideologies – House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy is having a hard time tamping down the Pandora’s Box of hate Donald Trump unleashed.

McCarthy has refused to take a strong stand against the most dangerous members of his caucus, trying to allow the extremist Congressmen and Congresswomen to actively lie, disrupt House business, and spread hate on a daily basis. Because they are raising millions.

In response to Republican white supremacist members of Congress Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona announcing they are forming the “America First Caucus,” McCarthy tried to stand up to those radicals, as Forbes notes, via tweet. Continue reading.

GOP memo urges ‘rebrand’ as ‘the working class party’ — by embracing ‘Donald Trump’s gift’

AlterNet Logo

Although former President Donald Trump has been gone from the White House for two months, his far-right brand of pseudo-populism — which was greatly influenced by Patrick Buchanan — continues to have a major effect on the GOP. And this week, according to Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, two House Republicans — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana — discussed a memo calling for the GOP to market itself as the “working class” party in the 2022 midterms.

The March 30 memo, written by Banks and addressed to McCarthy, is titled “Cementing GOP as the Working Class Party.” And it argues that Republicans, in 2022, need to embrace Trump voters and Trump’s ideas.

In the memo, Banks — who heads the Republican Study Committee — emphasizes, “Our electoral success in the 2022 midterm election will be determined by our willingness to embrace our new coalition. House Republicans can broaden our electorate, increase voter turnout, and take back the House by enthusiastically rebranding and reorienting as the Party of the Working Class…. There is an embittered and loud minority in the GOP that finds our new coalition distasteful, but President Trump’s gift didn’t come with a receipt.” Continue reading.

Fox News throws GOP leader’s attacks on Eric Swalwell back in his face amid Matt Gaetz sex trafficking probe

Raw Story Logo

Fox News host Dana Perino on Wednesday put House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on the hot seat over revelations that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is being probed by the FBI for potential sex trafficking charges.

While appearing on Fox News, McCarthy was reminded by Perino of his past statements that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) should be removed from the House Intelligence Committee after revelations that a suspected Chinese spy had infiltrated his office.

“So by that same logic, will you take any action to remove Matt Gaetz from the Judiciary Committee while he’s under investigation by the DOJ over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him?” she asked. Continue reading.

McCarthy faces Twitter storm after trying to ‘rewrite history’ of support for Trump’s attempted coup

AlterNet logo

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Thursday attempted to backpedal on his support of former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

During an appearance on CNN, news anchor Manu Raju asked the top-ranking Republican lawmaker about the double standard surrounding his support of Trump’s efforts to invalidate the election results while criticizing Democrats for contesting the results of an Iowa Congressional race.

McCarthy attempted to suggest that he did not support Trump’s efforts as he insisted Raju’s remarks were inaccurate. “You’re saying something that is not true,” the California Republican said. Continue reading.

Kevin McCarthy buried by ex-GOP staffer for ‘rolling over’ and becoming Trump’s ‘good dog’

Raw Story Logo

In a column for the Bulwark, a former speechwriter for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) claimed that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has given up all pretense of being his own man and now does Donald Trump’s bidding — even if it means contradicting his own previous statements.

Under a biting headline that reads, “Kevin McCarthy, Fetch,” Amanda Carpenter took the senior Republican to task for performing for Trump while on TV in exchange for “belly rubs and treats.”

Setting the stage, she wrote, “Some dog lovers believe that what makes their canine companions wonderful is their ability to ‘live in the moment’—meaning that, although they can be trained and obedient, and can learn to recognize and remember things they love and things they fear, they don’t have distinct memories of the past, let alone an ability to plan for the future. These dogs—or so the thinking goes—love their owners unconditionally. And they just want to submit and play nice for belly rubs and treats,” before complimenting the New York Times’ Julie Hirschfeld Davis for once observing McCarthy as a “golden retriever of a man who hates to be by himself.” Continue reading.