- In an interview with CBS, Kevin McCarthy endorsed Donald Trump for another term as president.
- McCarthy added that he'd accept a role in a Trump cabinet if he's "the best person for the job."
Kevin McCarthy, who earlier this week announced plans to resign from Congress just months after being ousted from the Speakership, has more news: He's endorsing Donald Trump for president in 2024, and possibly eyeing a cabinet position.
Speaking in a pre-recorded clip released Saturday ahead of his appearance on "CBS News Sunday Morning," McCarthy told host Robert Costa he believes Trump will secure the Republican nomination adding: "if Biden stays as the nominee for the Democrats, I believe Donald Trump will win. I believe the Republicans will gain more seats in the House and the Republicans will win the Senate."
When asked directly, McCarthy smiled and said he "will support President Trump" and would even be up to serve in a cabinet position if he's "the right person for the job."
The Trump campaign on Friday, without mentioning McCarthy by name, released a pointed statement distancing itself from any political hopefuls trying to attach themselves to the campaign after Axios reported Trump plans to build a cabinet based on loyalty to his agenda rather than adherence to legal boundaries.
"Let us be very specific here: unless a message is coming directly from President Trump or an authorized member of his campaign team, no aspect of future presidential staffing or policy announcements should be deemed official," The Hill reported two senior advisors on the Trump campaign, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, said in a joint statement.
They added: "Let us be even more specific, and blunt: People publicly discussing potential administration jobs for themselves or their friends are, in fact, hurting President Trump … and themselves. These are an unwelcomed distraction."
Representatives for McCarthy's congressional office and Trump's presidential campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
McCarthy's career ambitions brought him briefly to the office of Speaker of the House before he became the first Speaker to be ousted from the job in October after Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Trump loyalist, initiated a vote to remove him.
The Washington Post reported McCarthy, who has had a tumultuous relationship with the former president, cursed at Trump for refusing to intervene in the efforts to remove him from the Speakership.
Trump, who has previously referred to McCarthy with endearments like calling him "my Kevin," has limited his support for the former Speaker in recent months, despite his earlier endorsement of McCarthy for the job.
Historically, the pair have had heated disagreements that were later apparently resolved, including an expletive-laden call CNN reported took place between McCarthy and Trump on January 6, 2021, during the attack on the Capitol, in which McCarthy begged Trump to call his supporters off and get them to stop rioting.
McCarthy, though privately critical of Trump following January 6, went to the former president's side just weeks after the incident, controversially visiting Trump at Mar-a-Lago because he was concerned Trump was "not eating" former Rep. Liz Cheney wrote in her recent book.