President Trump admitted on Monday that he is at least partially responsible for what happened on the US Capitol last Wednesday.
That’s according to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who spoke to the president on Monday and later conveyed Mr Trump’s feelings to fellow House Republicans.
Multiple Republicans familiar with the exchanges confirmed the details to CBS News.
The call between the President and the top House Republican came on the same day that Mr. Trump met face-to-face with Vice President Pence for the first time since the deadly siege in the Oval Office, during which protesters were heard chanting, “Hang Mike. Pennies! “
The aid to senior Republicans comes as the House will vote on a resolution on Tuesday calling on Pence to 25th amendment with cabinet secretaries to remove the president from office. If Pence and the cabinet fail to do so, the House is expected to vote Wednesday on an article impeaching Mr Trump, hold him accountable for inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol and left five people behind death.
While many Congressional Republicans oppose impeaching Trump a second time, including McCarthy, a handful of Republican senators have indicated they are open to impeachment charges or have called on the president to step down before his January 20 term. expires.
McCarthy shared the details of his call with the president to fellow Republicans in a conference call later Monday, the people familiar with the exchange said.
In a letter to House Republicans and obtained by CBS News, McCarthy wrote that he is still against impeachment, writing that it would have “the opposite effect of bringing our country together when we need to get America back on the path to unity and courtesy. . “
He said conference members had recommended other avenues for tackling the Capitol riots on Wednesday, including creating a two-party committee for study the attack, reforming the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and legislating to “increase voter confidence in future federal elections.”
The other option McCarthy mentioned was censure, although he didn’t say who would be censored. The letter did not mention Mr. Trump by name.
McCarthy also reiterated to fellow House Republicans that he also believes the president has some responsibility for the crowd and the assault on the Capitol.
The House leader was one of many high-ranking Republicans who spoke with the president during the attack on Wednesday, begging him to call up his supporters and send military aid to quell the disturbances.
Kimberly Brown contributed to the reporting.