McCarthy Tries to Mend Fences With Trump
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy worked to patch up his relationship with Donald Trump in a meeting in Florida on Thursday, a sign of the former president’s continued sway over the party despite his loss in November and his impeachment this month over the Capitol riot.
Mr. Trump’s political committee in a statement described the meeting between the two men as “very good and cordial,” with their top priority being taking control of the House in 2022 after narrowing the Democrats’ majority in 2020. They will work together on that, the statement said.
Mr. McCarthy said in a statement that Mr. Trump “committed to helping elect Republicans in the House and Senate” and that “a united conservative movement will strengthen the bonds of our citizens and uphold the freedoms our country was founded on.”
The meeting was requested by the California congressman, who is trying to tamp down intraparty tensions as Republicans set their course in the post-Trump era. Mr. McCarthy for months stuck by Mr. Trump and declined to call President Biden the winner of the election, but later criticized Mr. Trump over the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol.
“They are making sure they say kumbaya,” said a Trump adviser familiar with the meeting at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. “I’m sure the president thought Kevin went too far. In fact, I’m certain he did. Kevin asked for the meeting to make sure he’s in good shape.”
Mr. McCarthy on Jan. 13 said Mr. Trump “bears responsibility” for the Capitol assault that left five people dead. But he then softened that criticism. Last week, he told reporters that Mr. Trump hadn’t “provoked” the violence that followed the former president’s rally where he urged his supporters to march to the Capitol.
Mr. McCarthy has found himself caught between two camps of House Republicans openly feuding with each other. Mr. Trump’s allies in the House are pushing to oust House GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming from the leadership, after she became the first of 10 House Republicans to announce she would vote to impeach Mr. Trump.
Mr. McCarthy has said he supports Ms. Cheney remaining in leadership, but also said she must answer questions from her colleagues. House Republicans expect Ms. Cheney’s role will be the focus of a special meeting next week.
GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a Trump ally, held a rally in Wyoming on Thursday criticizing Ms. Cheney for her impeachment vote.
Meanwhile, other Republicans frustrated by Mr. Trump’s rhetoric and the spreading of unsubstantiated claims of election fraud leading up to Jan. 6 are pushing back on lawmakers embracing conspiracy theories.
Freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) has come under criticism from members of both parties for her past comments on social media and her recent criticism of wearing masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19. She at one point embraced QAnon but later distanced herself from the set of far-right conspiracy theories.
This week a video surfaced of her following and aggressively questioning David Hogg, a student who became a gun-violence-prevention advocate following the mass shooting at his Parkland, Fla., school. Archived screenshots of her Facebook posts revealed references to conspiracy theories involving school shootings, child sex trafficking and the California wildfires.
“I was going from office to office in the Senate to oppose the radical gun control agenda that David Hogg was pushing,” Mrs. Greene said in a statement Thursday. “Democrats and their spokesmen in the Fake News Media will stop at nothing to defeat conservative Republicans.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) told reporters on Thursday that it was inappropriate that Mrs. Greene was named to the House Education Committee, and that Mr. McCarthy needed to take more steps to rein her in.
Since leaving Washington, Mr. Trump has remained at Mar-a-Lago, blocked from using social media accounts, and has spent time golfing while holding talks with advisers as he seeks to maintain control over the GOP.
Mr. Trump is “laser focused” on the Republicans who voted with Democrats on impeachment, and has called for retribution, checking in with aides about possible primary opponents, according to a person familiar with the matter. He has been studying how Senate Republicans may vote in the trial scheduled to begin Feb. 9, according to this person, but feels more confident he will be acquitted for a second time.
Most Republican senators have signaled they will vote to acquit Mr. Trump. This week, 45 Republicans cast a vote questioning the Senate’s authority to hold an impeachment trial for a former president, and now some lawmakers are exploring whether censuring Mr. Trump may be a better approach. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) has rejected that option.
The Senate, currently split 50-50, is also up for grabs in 2022. One of Mr. Trump’s closest allies in Congress, Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, said he wouldn’t run for the Senate seat being opened up by the retirement next year of GOP Sen. Rob Portman.
Write to Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com, Kristina Peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com and Georgia Wells at Georgia.Wells@wsj.com
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