House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he has “concerns” over Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-Wyo.) vote to impeach former President Trump, his sternest comments yet on the controversial vote.
McCarthy, in an interview with Greta Van Susteren airing Sunday, maintained that he supports keeping Cheney in her role as the No. 3 Republican in the House but said she did not inform him of her decision to impeach Trump before she cast her vote.
“Look, I support her, but I also have concerns. She took a position as a No. 3 member in conference. She never told me ahead of time. One thing about leadership, if we’re going to work together, we should understand. We know that this is going to become a difficulty,” he said.
“She can have a difference of opinion, but the one thing, if we’re going to lead within the conference, we should work together on that as a whole conference because we’re representative of that conference. So I support her, but I do think she has a lot of questions she has to answer to the conference.”
Cheney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
McCarthy has said in the past that he supports Cheney staying in her role as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, but her vote has led to broad pushback from conservative members of Congress.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and first-term Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) are circulating a petition to force a conference meeting where lawmakers could vote on a resolution calling for her to step down.
Cheney is also facing at least one primary challenge following her vote.
Still, the Wyoming lawmaker and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney has support from a wide swath of Republicans.
“I think it’d be a disaster. I think we need to keep our eye on the ball. I think we have a very great chance of taking the majority, and if we continue to give the American people a vision of Republican internal fratricide, that doesn’t do us any favors in convincing them that we’re better off to lead the House of Representatives come midterm presidency of Joe Biden,” Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) told reporters on Tuesday.
The House voted this month to impeach Trump over his role in inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol that led to the deaths of several people.