House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R. Calif) received a standing ovation during a closed door GOP meeting on Wednesday after an audio recording of him and other GOP House leaders slamming the incendiary conduct of some of his House colleagues was leaked.
“At meeting, McCarthy defended his leaked remarks as saying they had to discuss every scenario — and tapes only included a portion of his comments and don’t have full context,” CNN’s Manu Raju reported. “He contended it is a distraction and an attempt to divide them. He got a standing [ovation].”
“McCarthy also said that he doesn’t talk about GOP members publicly and only does in private — and if there are any problems, they should discuss the matter privately, according to the sources,” Raju added.
The New York Times published audio recordings on Tuesday that shows McCarthy and House minority whip Steve Scalise airing concerns about comments made by some conservative lawmakers post Jan. 6.
McCarthy said Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz was “putting people in jeopardy” and Scalise said that what Gaetz was doing “could potentially be illegal”.
Gaetz reportedly confronted Scalise in the meeting on Wednesday demanding an explanation as to why his conduct was seen as “illegal.”
“He didn’t have one. It was pathetic,” Gaetz told The Hill.
Gaetz also said he has “no more or less” confidence in McCarthy.
