McCarthy—Under Fire For Leaked Jan. 6 Audiotapes That Blast Far-Right Members

Topline

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will meet with fellow House Republicans Wednesday morning hours after leaked audio recordings of McCarthy released by the New York Times show that in the days following the January 6 insurrection he expressed concern over heated rhetoric from his Republican colleagues—immediately drawing criticism from Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, among others.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) answers questions during a press conference.

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Key Facts

McCarthy is meeting with Republican lawmakers in a GOP conference meeting after the Times reported he told Republican leaders in a January 10 phone call that he was going to clamp down on several far-right House members for their comments undermining a peaceful transfer of power, adding he couldn’t “put up” with their behavior.

McCarthy accused Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in particular of “putting people in jeopardy,” while House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) called Gaetz’ behavior “potentially illegal.”

Gaetz Tuesday night slammed the two Republican leaders, calling them “weak men” and adding that while he was “protecting President Trump from impeachment,” the leaders were “protecting Liz Cheney from criticism,” according to the Times.

McCarthy accused Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), of behaving even worse than former President Donald Trump on the day of the insurrection after he told protesters it was the day to “start taking down names and kicking ass,” the Times reported.

McCarthy also asked whether Twitter could suspend the far-right lawmakers’ accounts as the company did with Trump following the insurrection.

The Times report is adapted from an upcoming book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future, written by Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns.

Crucial Quote

“Tension is too high, the country is too crazy. I didn’t want to look back and think we caused something or we missed something and someone got hurt. I don’t want to play politics with any of that,” McCarthy said about some GOP lawmakers’ comments on the January 10 phone call.

Chief Critic

Fox News host Tucker Carlson took aim at McCarthy Tuesday night after the recordings were released, calling him a “puppet of the Democratic Party.” Carlson argued that McCarthy’s suggestion of removing some GOP colleagues from Twitter was an attempt to have “tech oligarchs” take “disobedient lawmakers off the internet,” saying McCarthy in private sounds like “an MSNBC contributor.”

What To Watch For

Whether McCarthy’s comments spark more reactions on Wednesday during the conference meeting. Some GOP lawmakers appeared to back up the House Minority Leader after the recordings were reported, including Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), who told Politico he was “for” McCarthy being the next speaker. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill) also told the outlet that “nobody’s talking about” the McCarthy tapes.

Key Background

The latest controversy for McCarthy comes just a week after the Times reported McCarthy pushed Trump to resign after the January 6 Capitol riot. McCarthy quickly denied the report, calling it “false and wrong.” But shortly after, MSNBC released leaked audio tapes confirming the top House Republican discussed calling on Trump to resign. McCarthy in the recording also said he had “had it” with Trump, calling his behavior on January 6 “unacceptable.” CNN published more audio recordings the following day in which McCarthy said Trump took some responsibility for his supporters storming the Capitol. McCarthy did not end up voting to impeach Trump and has said he would support him if he became the presidential nominee in 2024. His leaked comments have not appeared to spark too much criticism from GOP colleagues or from Trump.

McCarthy—Under Fire For Leaked Jan. 6 Audiotapes That Blast Far-Right Members—Prepares To Face House Republicans