‘This Is Serious Sh*t’: Leaked Audio Shows Kevin McCarthy Ridiculing Matt Gaetz Over Post-Jan. 6 Behavior
Audio obtained by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns shows House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had had it with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) four days after the deadly Capitol riot.
The recording is of a conference call among House Republican leadership in the days after the riot as members were in a state of shock over what had transpired. The reporters include the conversation in their upcoming book, This Will Not Pass.
“The other thing I wanna bring up – and I’m making some phone calls to some members,” McCarthy said. “I just got something sent now about Newsmax, something Matt Gaetz said where he’s calling people’s names out, saying an anti-Trump in this type of atmosphere and some of the other places. This is serious stuff people are doing that has to stop.”
Gaetz was one of the most vocal proponents of the lie that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Donald Trump, the claim that motivated the Capitol rioters in the first place.
At that point in the call, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) flagged other members who’d made incendiary charges.
“Yeah, I think Mo and Louie’s comments, too, a lot of members have said some real concerning things about–”
“Did they say something today, too?” asked McCarthy. Scalise was likely referring to Reps Mo Brooks (R-AL) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX).
Scalise noted that Brooks was at Trump’s “Stop the Steal” really on Jan 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C., shortly before Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed effort to overturn the election.
Scalise then asked what Gaetz had said. An aide on the call replied that Gaetz had gone after House Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY), who was also on the call.
“So I’m calling Gaetz,” said McCarthy. “I’m explaining to him, I don’t know what I’m going to say, but I’m gonna have some other people call him too. But the nature of what – if I’m getting a briefing, I’m going get another tomorrow – this is serious shit, to cut this out.”
Scalise replied, I mean, it’s potentially illegal, what he’s doing.”
“Well, he’s putting people in jeopardy,” McCarthy responded. “And he doesn’t need to be doing this. We saw what people would do in the Capitol. You know, and these people came prepared with rope, with everything else.”
Later in the call, McCarthy reiterated the members of the GOP conference must stop calling out other members over not being fully behind Trump’s election fraud claims.
“So when I get off right here, I’m gonna call Gaetz,” he said before asking those on the call to flag problematic behavior within the caucus. “But anything else we see, don’t assume I see everything, don’t assume I know everything. But we’ve gotta have one central point.”
McCarthy’s efforts to rein in the more rambunctious and obstinate members of his party was not particularly effective. Last week, Gaetz ripped McCarthy over another piece of leaked audio from the same call. McCarthy said he was going to talk to Trump about resigning the presidency. Meanwhile, Cheney was ousted as conference chair last year by a pro-Trump faction within the caucus.
Watch above via CNN.
