After Jan. 6, McCarthy and McConnell reportedly raged against Trump in private, but later capitulated
A new book from New York Times reporters Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin purports to reveal how House and Senate Minority Leaders Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), respectively, quietly railed against former President Donald Trump in the aftermath of the Capitol riot, only to back down in the near future, the Times reports.
According to This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America's Future, McCarthy and McConnell initially told colleagues in the days after the riot that they believed Trump bore responsibility for the attack, the Times writes. "I've had it with this guy," McCarthy reportedly told a group of Republican leaders.
In a phone call with other top Republicans on Jan. 8, McCarthy reportedly called Trump's behavior on Jan. 6 "atrocious and totally wrong" before inquiring about the 25th Amendment, which grants the vice president and members of the cabinet the power to remove a president from office. And in another call two days later, McConnell reportedly told GOP leaders he would advise the president to resign.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A spokesperson for McCarthy says the minority leader said no such thing. McCarthy has since remained one of Trump's staunchest supporters.
And in the Senate, McConnell reportedly told advisers shortly after the riot that "the Democrats are going to take care of the son of a b--ch for us," alluding to Trump and the imminent impeachment vote in the House.
"If this isn't impeachable, I don't know what is," McConnell had said at one point, per This Will Not Pass.
But when it came time to vote in the Senate, McConnell moved to acquit the former president (albeit not without giving a floor speech condemning him).
Now, though McConnell's become one of Trump's least favorite lawmakers, he still plans to stand behind the ex-president should he secure the nomination in 2024.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
The new powers to stop stalking in the UK
The Explainer Updated guidance could help protect more victims, but public is losing trust in police and battered criminal justice system
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Criminal trail?'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Grindr 'shared user HIV status' with ad firms, lawsuit claims
Speed Read LGBTQ dating app accused of breaching UK data protection laws in case filed at London's High Court
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
Sitting in judgment on Trump
Opinion Who'd want to be on this jury?
By Susan Caskie Published
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aid
Speed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
How could the Supreme Court's Fischer v. US case impact the other Jan 6. trials including Trump's?
Today's Big Question A former Pennsylvania cop might hold the key to a major upheaval in how the courts treat the Capitol riot — and its alleged instigator
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published