McCarthy reportedly wanted to speak with Biden personally to ensure a 'smooth transition' into the Democrat's presidency, new audio revealed on Wednesday evening
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy discussed the idea of removing Donald Trump from office using the 25th Amendment and revealed he wanted to call then-President-elect Joe Biden to ensure a 'smooth transition,' newly leaked audio showed on Wednesday evening.
The audio from a private January 8 call is the latest in a series of recorded tapes obtained by the authors of 'This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future' and shared with CNN that shed light on what McCarthy really felt about the former president in the immediate aftermath of the Capitol riot.
McCarthy called Trump's actions on January 6 last year 'atrocious and totally wrong.'
Those comments were published by the New York Times last month and initially denied by the GOP leader.
A new portion shows McCarthy floating the idea of pushing Cabinet members to remove then-President Trump via the 25th Amendment -- before complaining the measure would take 'too long.'
Audio reported on last month features McCarthy going a step further in a private call with his fellow GOP leaders, claiming he would speak to Trump about resigning.
Wednesday's tape features House GOP floor director John Leganski telling McCarthy, seemingly of Trump, 'I think the options that have been cited by the Democrats so far are the 25th Amendment, which is not exactly an elegant solution here.'
McCarthy responds: 'That takes too long too. It could go back to the House, right?'
'Correct. If the President were to submit a letter overruling the Cabinet and the vice president, two-thirds vote in the House and the Senate to overrule the President. So it's kind of an armful,' Leganski can be heard saying.
In another portion McCarthy mulls the idea of meeting with Biden, and possibly Trump meeting with Biden, before pouring cold water on the latter idea.
He also reportedly wanted Trump to speak with Biden but added 'that's not going to happen'
He also appears to rule out the possibility of impeaching Trump --
