McCarthy Sounds Alarm on House GOP Rebels Who ‘Have Not Moved’ From Opposing Him: ‘It’s All in Jeopardy!’

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House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) appeared to sound the alarm on his bid to become speaker of the House and the GOP’s ability to pass its agenda in the next Congress while on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show Friday.

Hewitt began the interview saying, “It’s great to talk to you. I was just berating the Knucklehead Caucus, and I know you’re a gentleman. You won’t single out people, but these five Republicans are screwing up the transition.”

“Are they retreating? Are they going to let things move forward, Leader McCarthy?” Hewitt asked referring to Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Bob Good (R-VA), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

“Well, we’re still continuing to talk, but they have not moved,” replied McCarthy, who has reportedly been aided by former President Donald Trump in trying to convince them.

“And the difficulty here is that you know, we are the only Republican entity stopping the Biden administration. But we’re also going to be the only ones that can move forward. But it would delay everything, getting committees up and running, being able to do the things that you know we need to get done from the very beginning,” McCarthy replied as the two then discussed various investigations the GOP-led House may undertake.

As the interview wound down, Hewitt returned to the GOP rebels who may tank McCarthy’s speaker bid.

“May I also add I think they’re screwing up candidate recruitment for 2024. You did a great job with Juan Ciscomani and many other new members. Am I right about that, that the delay is even delaying your particular personal efforts to recruit people for 2024?” Hewitt asked.

“It’s not only delaying that, it’s being prepared to not only defend the majority, but grow the majority. You want to take advantage of having the majority,” McCarthy replied, adding:

Remember, this is a presidential year, so you only have so many months to really get out there and govern. And you want to hit the ground running. Every day you lose, if you lose a quarter, you don’t start strong. So you don’t get new, stronger candidates. You don’t get more resources to be able to supply those candidates to get the message out. And people look at us and believe are you ready to be the majority if this is what’s happening? How can you pass the big bills? How can you change the course of history? How can you secure the border? How can you become energy independent? How can you get passed the parent’s bill of rights? It’s all in jeopardy.

“It’s all in jeopardy,” repeated Hewitt, adding, “And I hope Leader McCarthy, soon to be Speaker McCarthy, the five in the Knucklehead Caucus get the message. Thank you for joining me this morning.”

Listen to the full interview here