House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Liz Cheney, the third member of the House GOP, had an uncomfortable exchange with reporters on Wednesday about whether former President Trump is scheduled to speak at CPAC this weekend.
“Yes, he should,” McCarthy said in a quick response after a reporter asked him.
However, Cheney had a different answer when he asked the same question.
“That’s up to CPAC,” she began, before continuing. “I have been clear about my views on President Trump and the extent to which, after January 6, I do not believe he should play a role in the future of the party or the country.”
LIZ CHENEY AT THE CROSSHAIRS OF DONALD TRUMP JR. 2022
After an awkward silence, McCarthy closed the press conference. “On that high note, thank you all very much,” he said to reporters’ laughter.
Cheney stirred up the party last month when she voted to impeach Trump. Trump-line congressmen such as Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Called for her impeachment from the House leadership.
MATT GAETZ TARGETS CAREER KEVIN MCCARTHY FOR THE DEFENSE OF LIZ CHENEY
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Watches as Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., The chairman of the House Republican Conference, speaks to reporters as Congress prepares for its first ballot on the COVID-19 Democrats’ $ 1.9 trillion relief bill on Capitol Hill, Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)
Cheney has been censored by Republicans in her home state of Wyoming, and Donald Trump Jr., Gaetz and others have vowed to support challengers who plan to submit to her.
But 145 members of the House Republican Conference ultimately backed Cheney, with just 61 Trump loyalists voting in a secret ballot earlier this month to remove her from her leadership role.
And Cheney remained defiant in her constant criticism of the former president who remains popular in the party.
“Those of us who care deeply about our history and our future, who take our oaths and commitments seriously, will send our party and our country into the future,” she told the Reagan Institute Tuesday. “We will rectify the unforgivable injustice of January 6. We will once again make our party worthy of the Lincoln and Reagan mantle. ”
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McCarthy has backed Cheney but continued to back Trump, even visiting the former president of Mar-a-Lago to discuss how the House would come back under GOP control in 2022.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.