(RightWing.org) – Former President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have had a good relationship with one another for years. They worked together when the 45th POTUS was in office, and later, when he left, he endorsed the congressman for the speaker position.
In June, the conservative lawmaker said something that allegedly angered Trump. In response, reports indicate the speaker tried to smooth things over by making a controversial statement of support for the ex-POTUS.
Not the Strongest
During a June appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” McCarthy stated, “Anybody can beat [President Joe] Biden.” However, he acknowledged that doesn’t mean the Democratic president would lose against everyone. He explained that the 37-count indictment against Trump in federal court has “complicated” the presidential race. He said the former POTUS might not be the “strongest” GOP candidate.
McCarthy later tried to walk the comments back, telling Breitbart that Trump was stronger than he was when he won the White House in 2016.
McCarthy’s Alleged Promise
According to an exclusive report by POLITICO, the former president was furious after he heard McCarthy’s comments. As he traveled to a campaign event in New Hampshire, Trump allegedly yelled, “He needs to endorse me — today!” The speaker refused. He wanted to stay neutral during the presidential primary because of his leadership position within the party.
Instead of endorsing Trump, McCarthy reportedly promised him that he would hold a vote before the August recess to expunge both of his impeachments from the records. The speaker has denied he made such a promise but says he supports an expungement.
.@SpeakerMcCarthy denies promising Trump he would hold a vote on expunging Trump’s impeachments, as reported by Playbook this AM, telling @ryanobles, “They did it for purely political purposes. I support expungement but there's no deal out there.” —> pic.twitter.com/qNzrPQEKD7
— Rebecca Kaplan (@RebeccaRKaplan) July 20, 2023
However, if the reporting is true and the speaker did tell Trump he would hold the vote, that would force the current members of the House to definitively state where they stand on the matter. The report claimed that many moderates are concerned about bringing up the impeachments all over again. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) have introduced resolutions to try to erase the impeachments from the record.
Some Conservatives have said they would vote for the expungement but pointed out that’s usually for convictions. Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY) wasn’t in Congress during the impeachments but told The Washington Post, “He was acquitted at trial, so I don’t really see the purpose in it.”
Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) voted against both impeachments and said he would have “a hard time expunging something when there wasn’t a conviction.”
Some experts say the Constitution doesn’t allow for impeachment records to be expunged. It’s never been done before.
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