GOP lawmakers voice frustrations with McCarthy

House Republicans voice frustrations with Minority Leader Kevin mccarthyKevin McCarthyHouse Democrat touts resolution to kick Marjorie Taylor Greene out of Congress McCarthy to meet with Trump in Florida Video shows Rep. Greene calling Parkland shooting survivor ‘coward’ MORE (R-Calif.), Noting the divisions in the conference following the January 6 uprising on Capitol Hill.

Those who criticize McCarthy say his message has been inconsistent. They note that he sometimes criticized the former President TrumpDonald Trump FBI says California extremist may have targeted Newsom House Democrat touts resolution to kick Marjorie Taylor Greene from congressional Facebook to recall political content on platform for his role in the mob attack on the Capitol, to turn the tide later.

They also say that McCarthy sent various messages through Rep. Liz cheneyElizabeth (Liz) Lynn Cheney State-level Republicans torn apart by Trump loss Former lawmakers call on leaders to focus on unity On the trail: GOP little interest in post-introspection -election PLUS (Wyo.), The third House GOP leader, who voted to impeach Trump and now faces calls for her removal from the leadership.

McCarthy, who is due to meet with Trump in Florida on Thursday, also takes over Rep. Marjorie Greene (R-Ga.), Who has raised questions about the veracity of the school shootings and made comments calling for violence against Democratic officials. The postings have led to calls for her to lose committee seats and be removed from Congress.

“It’s hard to know where he’s coming from, because one minute he says he’s censoring the president and he’s responsible for that, and the next minute he’s backing off and changing his position,” said a GOP lawmaker, who believes that Trump’s rhetoric precedes the riot deserves a rebuke.

This lawmaker criticized McCarthy, saying that “everything depends on his political ambition and not on being a principled leader who will lead us to the majority.”

McCarthy’s office declined to comment for this story.

McCarthy, who was a close ally of Trump during his presidency, said Trump bore some responsibility for the Jan.6 mob attack on the Capitol in a Jan. 13 speech on the ground to oppose the impeachment of Trump.

But at a press conference on Jan.21, he told reporters he didn’t believe Trump “provoked” the crowd “if you listen to what he said at the rally.”

He said Cheney should stay in charge, but also told reporter Greta Van Susteren: “I support her, but I also have concerns.”

Critics say he is trying to play both sides of the debate and that is hurting confidence in his leadership.

McCarthy, like GOP leaders before him, faces a difficult task of leading a GOP caucus that is pulled in different directions by members such as Cheney who want to get away from Trump, and a large number of GOP lawmakers. who are firmly in Trump. camp.

Trump’s energy is also more pronounced at the base of the GOP, which has put pressure on everyone in McCarthy’s conference.

It is a dilemma that precedes Trump’s rise and that the two GOP leaders before McCarthy, former presidents John boehnerJohn Andrew Boehner Can The GOP Break Its Addiction To Show biz? House Tories plot to oust former President Boehner Liz Cheney after violence on Capitol Hill: ‘GOP must wake up’ (R-Ohio) and Paul RyanPaul Davis RyanBiden’s inauguration marked by a conflict of hope and fear The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Sights and sons from Inauguration Day Revising the pardon power – let the Speaker and Congress have voice MORE (R-Wis.), Also had to face.

Yet McCarthy likely faces a greater challenge than his predecessors given Trump’s rise to power over the past four years and the Republican Party schism following the loss of the White House and Senate majority and the meteoric attack on the Capitol.

“The GOP is at a crossroads and we have a decision to make: are we going to continue on a divisive path or will we start to rebuild our party? Kevin should consider meeting with members who are not in the political theater and who are eager to get things done, ”a critical member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus told The Hill.

“If he did, I think he would understand how much support he enjoys when he stands up to members who tend to put their own ambitions ahead of the interests of the American people.”

GOP lawmakers who would like to see McCarthy challenge the right of his conference and Trump are warning they risk losing seats, not winning them, if he doesn’t.

Some have argued that the GOP’s November successes in tilting the back seats could be at risk in the wake of the insurgency, with some fearing that if the party continues to tie too closely to Trump it could hurt them. in the necessary suburban swing neighborhoods. to take back the majority. These voices warn that the conference risks being reduced to one inhabited by those who can win in the heavily red light districts.

“I think that [McCarthy is losing the trust of some in the conference] because many of us see ourselves as majority decision-makers – it’s easy to be brave in these R + 23 seats, ”said a GOP lawmaker in a competitive district.

“When you have primaries and generals you have to go the line, and part of the thing that I think he forgot is that we won seats. Why? Because we play our districts, we don’t subscribe to what Trump is going to wear us [mentality]. We go back and talk about the things we are doing.

While Tories have disagreed with McCarthy in the past, a Tory aide said there are currently no major grievances with the California Republican from that faction of the party at the moment.

And a number of lawmakers say the California Republican is navigating the current circumstances the best they can in the current climate.

“I think at the end of the day we’ll be in the majority in two years because the Democrats are doing ridiculous bullshit right now,” one member said. “And I think everyone would wish they had done something different between the November elections and now. I think he did a B + job.

Several GOP lawmakers said they felt McCarthy was focused on maintaining support from members of the Freedom Caucus – the group that ousted BoehnerJohn Andrew Boehner Can The GOP Break Its Addiction To Show biz? House Tories plot to oust former President Boehner Liz Cheney after violence on Capitol Hill: ‘GOP must wake up’ and hampered his ability to secure the President’s hammer in 2015 – could alienate a significant portion of the conference that supported him and helped him climb the leadership ladder.

“Right now he’s trying to please everyone and I think we have irreconcilable short term differences. I think he’s really playing with fire in that if they push to drop Liz there will be a conversation about [House Minority Whip] Steve [Scalise (R-La.)] and Kevin too, ”said a senior GOP lawmaker.

“They [the Freedom Caucus] is going to backfire, and he’s trying to prevent it, and maybe he’ll be able to do it successfully, but he’s losing the trust, I think, of the majority of the conference right now is they don’t say it. ”

The loss of corporate PAC funds to members who voted to challenge the election results could also cause problems for the California Republican.

McCarthy – who voted to oppose certification for Arizona and Pennsylvania – publicly rejected the PAC company’s loss of money, telling reporters he was “not at all” worried in fundraising figures this quarter. But he also controlled the damage with K Street, suggesting there are concerns.

“He’s trying to calm the donors,” a Republican donor recently told The Hill.

representative Guy ReschenthalerGuy ReschenthalerTapper battles GOP lawmakers for criticizing Afghan veteran electoral college vote READ: Republicans who voted to challenge election results Cleaver concludes congressional prayer with ‘amen and wife’ MORE (Pa.), A member of the House GOP leadership, said he was confident McCarthy will prevail in the long term.

“He’s the most prolific fundraiser we’ve ever had, he’s our best recruiter. And he’s our best strategist. Also, if you need proof of that, we took back the seats when we lost the Senate and the White House – it’s no coincidence, it’s no accident, it’s up to 100% Kevin McCarthy.

In a political call on Wednesday, McCarthy told conference members he would no longer tolerate members publicly attacking each other, adding that he has allowed it to last longer than it does. Should have assumed it would have gone off, according to two sources on the call.

“No more attacks on each other. Cut out that shit. If you spend more time on Twitter than talking to your constituents, you are wrong, ”he told MPs.

And in a letter sent to members of his conference on Monday, the GOP leader called on them to unite and “turn down the political heat” and focus on offering a contrast to administration policies. Biden.

Some high-level GOP sources said they saw his tone as a positive step in moving the conference forward.

Scott Wong and Alex Gangitano contributed.