Last month, he defended the Republican National Committee after it passed a resolution to disapprove of Ms. Cheney and the other January 6 Republican committee member, Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger; the resolution said they were involved in the “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.” In contrast, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, denounced the party.
In private conversations with donors, Mr. McCarthy often fails to mention Mr. Trump as he makes his aggressive pitch about the coming “red wave” and what Republicans would do if they regained the majority.
But he is often asked whether Mr Trump intends to run for president.
Mr. McCarthy has told backers that Mr. Trump has not yet made a decision and that he has advised the former president to see if President Biden is running for reelection. Mr. McCarthy also frequently mentions former members of the House who he said could be serious presidential candidates, including South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The Aftermath of Capitol Riot: Key Developments
Ivanka Trump. The eldest daughter of former President Donald J. Trump, who served as one of his senior advisers, is said to be in talks with the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol about the opportunity to interview the panel. to sit.
On Capitol Hill, Mr. McCarthy’s fundamental problem boils down to math. Leadership positions in the House can be secured by a majority vote of the members of each party. But the speaker is a constitutional official elected by the entire House and must therefore obtain a majority – at least 218 votes.
In 2015, after the most conservative members of the House retired Speaker John A. Boehner, Mr. McCarthy, then the No. 2 Republican, was heir to the throne — and he ruined it. His biggest public offense was a television appearance in which he blurted out that the House had set up a special committee to investigate the attack on a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, expressly to reduce Hillary Clinton’s approval ratings.
“I said several times at the time that we need a speaker who can speak,” recalls former Representative Jason Chaffetz, who challenged Mr McCarthy to speak after the blunder.
In the end, Republicans recruited Paul D. Ryan, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and a former vice presidential candidate, for the job.
