Kevin McCarthy opposed removing Trump with the 25th Amendment after the Capitol riot, saying it would 'take too long': audio
- New audio shows House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy privately discussing Trump's responsibility for Jan 6.
- He opposed evoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump, saying it would take "too long."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he opposed removing then-President Donald Trump from office under the 25th Amendment in the wake of the Capitol riot because it would "take too long," according to new audio published by CNN.
In the January 8, 2021, call with Republican House leadership, McCarthy is heard describing Trump's actions on January 6 as "atrocious and totally wrong" but saying he was opposed to impeaching him.
The audio is one of a series released by the New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns and described in their new book, "This Will Not Pass," which chronicles the tumultuous end of the Trump presidency.
In the call, a House GOP staffer is heard saying that Democrats were divided about what to do, and some were discussing seeking to invoke the 25th Amendment.
"That takes too long too. It could go back to the House, right?" McCarthy said, according to the audio.
Under the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution, the vice president and cabinet have the power to remove the president from office if they are "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."
However, the president can object to the removal, and refer the issue to Congress where a two-thirds majority from both chambers must ratify the decision for the removal to go ahead. The 25th Amendment has never been used in US history.
At the time of the conversation, the country was reeling in the aftermath of the Capitol attack, and lawmakers had expressed concern that Trump could abuse his office during his remaining two weeks in power to stir further chaos.
McCarthy also expressed opposition to impeaching Trump, saying that it would further divide the nation.
"The only best way, I think, for everybody as Americans moving forward is to focus on the future, not the past, trying to bring us together," McCarthy said. "And I do think the impeachment divides the nation further and continues the fight even greater."
Trump was eventually impeached for the second time by the Democratic-controlled House over his role in the riot, but was acquitted when the Senate did not meet the two-thirds majority vote required to convict.
As Trump's popularity with GOP voters has held firm after his presidency, McCarthy has presented himself as one of his most loyal allies, and has opposed the House commission investigating Trump's role in instigating the riot.
McCarthy is seeking to become House speaker if the Republican Party wins control of the lower chamber in November's midterms.
Yet, as previous recordings have made clear, McCarthy believed in the immediate wake of the riot that Trump was to blame and at one point told House Republicans that he was going to urge Trump to resign.
McCarthy visited Trump last week at Mar-a-Lago in a show of loyalty in response to the revelations, with the former president having sought to punish other Republicans who have criticized him over the Capitol attack.