Tag: Kevin McCarthy

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House GOP Leader Pulls Republicans From Jan. 6 Investigation

Donald Trump calls the January 6 invasion of the Capitol building a "beautiful time" with "loving people"

(screen capture via YouTube)

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced his five Republican choices to participate in the select committee investigating the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol building today.

And Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi promptly vetoed two of McCarthy’s picks saying Democrats in her caucus had raised specific objections to “the impact their appointments may have on the integrity of the investigation.”

Via Politico:

Pelosi rejected Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who was tapped to serve as ranking member, and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), both of whom voted to challenge certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral wins earlier this year. Her decision sent shock waves through the House and is likely to galvanize House Republicans against any participation in the investigation.

Another Republican, freshman Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), also voted not to certify Biden’s win, but Pelosi said she is “prepared to appoint” Nehls as well as Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) and Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), both of whom voted to certify the election.

McCarthy issued a scorching reply that made clear he would yank his other three picks if the speaker didn’t walk back her veto of Banks and Jordan, a move she’s highly unlikely to make.

You may recall Pelosi originally wanted to create an independent, bipartisan panel similar to the 9/11 commission. That measure was co-authored by Rep. John Katko (r-NY), and passed the House with the support of 35 GOP lawmakers.

Republicans in the Senate, however, blocked that effort, which led to House Democrats creating the select committee in June.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who Pelosi has already chosen to be part of the committee, told reporters she agreed with Pelosi’s decision.

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Trump & McCarthy Had Expletive-Laden Shouting Match During Capitol Invasion

(screen capture via CNN)

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican from Washington state, has told CNN that Donald Trump got into a heated conversation with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy while the U.S. Capitol building was being invaded on January 6.

Herrea Beutler and other House Republicans have confirmed the details of the call wherein McCarthy begged Trump to call off his mob.

From CNN:

“Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” Trump said, according to lawmakers who were briefed on the call afterward by McCarthy.

McCarthy insisted that the rioters were Trump’s supporters and begged Trump to call them off.

Trump’s comment set off what Republican lawmakers familiar with the call described as a shouting match between the two men.

A furious McCarthy told the President the rioters were breaking into his office through the windows, and asked Trump, “Who the f–k do you think you are talking to?” according to a Republican lawmaker familiar with the call.

Multiple House Republicans say the call demonstrates Trump had no intention of calling off the rioters even as lawmakers were under siege.

Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), who voted last month to impeach Trump, said, “I think it speaks to the former President’s mindset. He was not sorry to see his unyieldingly loyal vice president or the Congress under attack by the mob he inspired. In fact, it seems he was happy about it or at the least enjoyed the scenes that were horrifying to most Americans across the country.”

This news broke after the impeachment proceedings had ended for the day. As Dan Rather asks, how do you not call McCarthy as a witness at this point?

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House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy Caught On Audio: Putin Pays Trump

Rep. Kevin McCarthy


The Washington Post is reporting the discovery of a recording from last year which apparently captures Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy claiming Donald Trump was receiving payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the beneficiary of payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016 exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) immediately interjected, stopping the conversation from further exploring McCarthy’s assertion, and swore the Republicans present to secrecy.

[snip]

When initially asked to comment on the exchange, Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Ryan, said: “That never happened,” and Matt Sparks, a spokesman for McCarthy, said: “The idea that McCarthy would assert this is absurd and false.”

After being told that The Post would cite a recording of the exchange, Buck, speaking for the GOP House leadership, said: “This entire year-old exchange was clearly an attempt at humor. No one believed the majority leader was seriously asserting that Donald Trump or any of our members were being paid by the Russians. What’s more, the speaker and leadership team have repeatedly spoken out against Russia’s interference in our election, and the House continues to investigate that activity.”

“This was a failed attempt at humor,” Sparks said.

Why would Brendan Buck initially respond “That never happened,” only to cop to the fact it did happen minutes later? Is lying his default?

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Rep. Kevin McCarthy Drops Out Of Race For Speaker Of The House

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who last week made a stunning political gaffe by admitting the House Benghazi Committee was created to take down Hillary Clinton presidential candidacy, has just announced he is dropping out of the race for Speaker of the House.

Up to now, it was a fairly foregone conclusion that McCarthy would succeed John Boehner as Speaker. But his admission last week to Fox News’ Sean Hannity created a political firestorm for him.

Speaker of the House John Boehner has now announced the election to replace him will be postponed.

UPDATE: McCarthy shared at a press conference that “We need a new face.”

When asked if his statement regarding the Benghazi investigation last week hurt his chances to become Speaker, he replied, “Well, it wasn’t helpful.”

Here’s the announcement:


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A Different “Kevin McCarthy” Has A Special Message For You

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An important message from Kevin McCarthy. No, not the Republican House Speaker-in-waiting. Another one. From Iowa.Posted by Hillary Clinton on Wednesday, October 7, 2015

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Politics: The New McCarthyism

This new ad from The Agenda Project asks, “Is this what we can expect when Representative Kevin McCarthy is Speaker of the House?”

Last week, McCarthy admitted in a TV interview that the Benghazi investigations in Congress were created to bring down Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers.

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Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy Admits Benghazi Investigations Meant To Damage Hillary Clinton’s Campaign

They say in Washington, D.C. politics that a “gaffe” is when someone accidentally tells the truth.

The presumed new Speaker of the House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, did just that when speaking to Fox News’ Sean Hannity last night when he let the cat out of the bag and admitted that the past year’s Republican led witch hunt regarding the many Benghazi investigations were conducted with the intent of bringing down Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Speaking about his presumed role as the incoming Speaker of the House, here’s McCarthy’s admission:

What you’re going to see is a conservative speaker, that takes a conservative Congress, that puts a strategy to fight and win. And let me give you one example. Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right?

But we put together a Benghazi special committee. A select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known that any of that had happened had we not fought to make that happen.

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McCarthy Confirmed Benghazi Committee Political Charade
Speaker-in-Waiting Kevin McCarthy confirms: The Benghazi committee is a partisan effort to hurt Hillary’s campaign.
Posted by The Briefing on Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Today, Hillary Clinton was asked for her response to the the news that the allegations were orchestrated for political maneuvering:

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Hillary responds to Kevin McCarthy
Hillary’s response to Kevin McCarthy.
Posted by The Briefing on Wednesday, September 30, 2015