Kevin McCarthy is learning that you can get burned when you try to make everyone happy, especially after an uprising.
Why it matters: The Republican leader of the House hoped to use this year to build towards taking the majority in 2022, but his efforts to reduce the intra-party division over the siege of the Capitol made him take pressure from all directions, eroding his stature both with the public and inside your party.
The last test: McCarthy’s digital director, Caleb Smith, sent a large e-mail to a group of Republican communications officials on Saturday afternoon asking them to show their support to their boss.
- The subject line read: “{GOP-New-Media} Retweet Request”, according to a copy of the email obtained by Axios.
- Smith wrote: “HuffPost and the Blue Checks were at full strength today trying to distort the words of leader McCarthy in an effort to further divide America. They deserve to be called. We would appreciate your help in counterattacking, retweeting this: https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1353057765015449610. “
What they are saying: “We are eating shit for breakfast, lunch and dinner now,” a McCarthy aide told Axios. The aide asked anonymity to speak frankly about his boss’s situation.
Pressure is building on McCarthy financially, politically and publicly.
- Corporate donors are freezing him for contesting the Electoral College vote on January 6.
- The media is lampooning him for initially saying that “the president has responsibility” for the attack on the Capitol, but amending it last week to say, “I can’t believe he provoked you, if you hear what he said at the rally.”
- McCarthy was also hit for saying during an interview this weekend that “everyone” is responsible for the political temperature in the country.
- Meanwhile, the pro-Trump wing of his conference is angry with him for not condemning Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) More strongly after she voted to impeach Trump.
Driving the news: McCarthy explained his comments on Thursday during an interview this weekend with van Susteren. He also signaled limits on his support for Cheney, the conference president and No. 3 Republicans in the House.
- “Look, I support her, but I also have concerns,” he said, adding that there are “many questions” that she needs to answer during a conference meeting later this week.