House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) privately called on his Republican colleagues to tamp down the intraparty mudslinging that has ensued after 10 GOP House members voted to impeach former President Trump for “incitement of insurrection,” according to CNN on Wednesday.
In a call hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday aimed at ensuring that House members raise campaign funds in an effort to win back the majority, McCarthy reportedly implored his colleagues to stop the attacks against each other and focus their efforts instead on taking the House back from Democrats next year.
“Cut that crap out,” McCarthy told his members, according to CNN, citing two sources on the call.
McCarthy claimed that during personal discussions he’s had with individual members, he shared concerns that intraparty drama will only work to Democrats’ advantage in next year’s midterms.
“No more attacks to one another,” McCarthy said, which includes fights over Twitter, according to CNN.
One GOP lawmaker told CNN that McCarthy’s kumbaya messaging included saying that “the only thing that can stop us from taking the majority is us.”
McCarthy’s plea for House Republicans to tone down attacks within their conference was made amid calls to oust its third-ranking member Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from her leadership position after she voted to impeach Trump for “incitement of insurrection.”
The topic did not come up on the NRCC call on Wednesday, however, according to CNN.
Along with Cheney, nine other House Republicans voted to impeach Trump as well and have also been singled out by their colleagues.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), one of the few Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, indicated to the Washington Post in an interview published Wednesday that he’s prepared to lose his political career in light of feeling “very isolated and very lonely” in his party.
CNN’s report of the NRCC call came shortly after Punchbowl News first reported that McCarthy is set to meet with Trump in Florida on Thursday in an effort to get back in the former president’s good graces. McCarthy initially acknowledged that Trump “bears responsibility” for the deadly Capitol insurrection.
McCarthy has since changed his tone. On Sunday, he asserted that “everybody across the country” bears some responsibility for the attack.
