McCarthy won't say if Liz Cheney is still a 'good fit' for GOP leadership: 'That's a question for the conference'

• Kevin McCarthy declined to say whether Liz Cheney was still "a good fit" for GOP leadership.
• "That's a question for the conference," he said.
• McCarthy and Cheney have split on former President Donald Trump's continued role within the party.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California on Tuesday declined to say whether he believed that Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, should remain in the party's leadership.

Cheney voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot and has been an outspoken opponent of Trump's continued influence within the party, which has caused a rift among House Republicans.

GOP House members are currently in Florida for their annual legislative retreat, the first since Trump lost the White House to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

When asked by Punchbowl News reporter Jake Sherman whether Cheney was still "a good fit" for the leadership team, McCarthy passed on offering his personal opinion.

"That's a question for the conference," he said.

In February, the GOP conference voted to keep Cheney in her leadership role, but her future in the party remains uncertain, especially as Republicans seek to regain a House majority in the 2022 midterm elections.

In an interview with Politico yesterday, McCarthy chided Cheney for her vocal criticism of Trump.

"There's a responsibility, if you're gonna be in leadership, leaders eat last," he said. "And when leaders try to go out, and not work as one team, it creates difficulties."

Read more: This millennial GOP congressman voted to impeach Trump. Now he's trying to save his party from going off a cliff.

McCarthy told Politico that he's privately asked Cheney to tone down her remarks about Trump.

Asked if he thought she had taken his advice, McCarthy replied: "You be the judge."

In an interview with Politico yesterday, Cheney refused to back down from her disapproval of Trump.

"If we minimize what happened on Jan. 6th and if we appease it, then we will be in a situation where every election cycle, you could potentially have another constitutional crisis," she said. "If you get into a situation where we don't guarantee a peaceful transfer of power, we won't have learned the lessons of Jan. 6."

She added: "And you can't bury our head in the sand. It matters hugely to the survival of the country."

Earlier on Tuesday, McCarthy remarked on the continued criticism of Trump.

"I think from a perspective if you're sitting here at the retreat its focused on policy, focused on the future of bringing America into the next century, and you're talking about something else, you're not being productive," he said.

When asked on Monday about who led the GOP, Cheney named Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and McCarthy, omitting Trump. In an interview with the New York Post, Cheney didn't rule out a future presidential run, while deeming it "disqualifying" for senators - like Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley - who challenged the 2020 election results to run for president in 2024.