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House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy got a “standing ovation” at a House GOP meeting Wednesday, as the conference appears to be rallying behind him after leaked phone calls.
“Standing ovation and Kevin will be speaker,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said to reporters.
CHENEY, SCALISE DENY INVOLVEMENT AFTER LEAKED RECORDINGS REVEAL MCCARTHY RECOMMENDED TRUMP RESIGN
“Yes,” Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., said when asked by Fox News Digital about the ovation.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise of La., left, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., speak with reporters after watching a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy live-streamed into the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
((AP Photo/Alex Brandon))
“He addressed them and I think the conference is satisfied,” Obernolte added.
The New York Times has recently published recorded phone calls showing McCarthy disparaging former President Donald Trump, including one in which he said he would call for him to resign in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by his supporters.
President Donald Trump listens during a roundtable discussion on the Federal Commission on School Safety report, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
McCarthy also said that some of his members may be putting people in danger with their rhetoric, particularly on Trump’s false claims the 2020 election was stolen.
Top House Democrats Wednesday attacked Republicans for their continued support of Trump, and for some, his election claims.
Republicans, House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said, “continue to support the big lie, lie about everything else, lie when they’re caught, and then giving standing ovations.”
“The radical right playbook is simple. It’s not complicated,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said. “It’s a five point playbook. Number one, lie. Number two, lie. Number three, lie. Number four, lie. Number five, lie again.”
Jeffries continued to say that Republicans, “lie with impunity. Facts don’t matter. Hypocrisy is not a constraint to their behavior. And they think that shamelessness is a superpower.”
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Not all Republicans appeared to accept McCarthy’s explanation Wednesday. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., was asked if he has confidence in McCarthy.
“No more or less than usual,” Gaetz said.
The rabble-rousing Republican has often criticized McCarthy and this week slammed the GOP leader for the content of the phone calls.
McCarthy has rebutted the Times reporting as “totally false and wrong” and maintains that he has never asked Trump to resign. Trump and McCarthy remained on good terms last week following the first leaked audio tapes, according to a source familiar.
