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Matt Gaetz (R-FL) went after Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for suggesting Donald Trump’s resignation, and the congressman simultaneously accused Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) of secretly recording the House minority leader.

McCarthy is drawing fire after New York Times reporters Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin previewed their upcoming book by saying he was enraged with Trump, brought up the 25th Amendment, and told Republican leadership he would ask the former president for his resignation over the events of January 6th. Burns and Martin reported that McCarthy’s comments were audio-recorded, and even though McCarthy tried to claim their story was “totally false and wrong,” the two released a tape confirming their reporting on him.

The commotion not only speaks to the GOP’s private frustrations with Trump, it also indicates McCarthy seriously considered having the former president politically exiled over the storming of the U.S. Capitol before he snuggled back up to him. Gaetz, a hardline Trump loyalist, took notice of the clip, and he fired a salvo against McCarthy on Twitter.

“While I was

rallying in Wyoming against Liz Cheney, Kevin McCarthy was defending Liz Cheney among House Republicans…While Liz Cheney was secretly recording Kevin McCarthy for the New York Times,” Gaetz said. “@GOPLeader — you should have trusted my instincts, not your own.”

Gaetz’s tweet does raise the question of who provided Burns and Martin with the Cheney-McCarthy recording. Cheney’s office has issued a statement in any case, insisting it didn’t come from her:

Tags: Alex Burns, January 6, Jonathan Martin, Kevin McCarthy, Liz Cheney, Matt Gaetz, This Will Not Pass