Trump Endorses McCarthy for Speaker if GOP Retakes House (Newsmax)
By Michael Katz | Tuesday, 08 November 2022 09:31 PM EST
Former President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House should Republicans retake the chamber, as expected, after Tuesday’s midterm elections.
During an interview with Fox News posted Tuesday, Trump gave the thumbs-up to the California Republican, who at times has been at odds with the former president.
In April, audio leaked that showed McCarthy wanted Trump to resign as president after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to the audio, obtained by The New York Times, McCarthy called Trump’s actions “atrocious and totally wrong.”
Politico reported McCarthy and Trump spoke shortly after the audio was leaked, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person familiar with the matter said Trump “was not upset” at the initial New York Times story on the remarks but they did not know how he would feel about the revelation of the audio tape that substantiated it.
McCarthy, the House minority leader, likely has no challengers for speaker should the GOP win the majority. The party needed to net just five seats Tuesday to clinch control of the chamber.
The Hill reported McCarthy shored up his path to the speakership in part by giving members of the right flank a seat at the table. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is likely to chair the House Judiciary Committee if Republicans win the majority. McCarthy has also promised to restore the committee assignments for Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor-Greene.
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