McCarthy to meet with Trump in Florida

Former President Trump is expected to meet this week with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in Florida, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed to The Hill.

The rendezvous, which was first reported by Punchbowl News, comes as McCarthy attempts to manage simmering tensions within the House GOP caucus amid the fallout from the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol and Trump’s ensuing impeachment for his role in the mayhem.

McCarthy’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The House GOP leader spent the last four years projecting unflinching loyalty to Trump while he was in the White House, positioning himself to take the Speaker’s gavel if the Republicans had taken back control of the House.

But the relationship between Trump and McCarthy showed cracks in the wake of the Capitol riots, which left a police officer and four others dead after a pro-Trump mob stormed the complex to halt the certification of electoral votes affirming Joe Biden as president.

McCarthy still voted that night to reject electors from Pennsylvania, but he later said Trump bore some responsibility for the violence. In a private phone call, McCarthy told Trump left-wing protesters were not to blame for the violence, something the former president and some close allies have claimed.

McCarthy did not vote to impeach Trump earlier this month, but he did not actively urge members of his caucus to oppose the vote. Ten Republicans ultimately voted for impeachment, causing a rift among Trump loyalists and those who have been critical of the former president.

Trump has stewed over McCarthy’s comments in the weeks since, and he is plotting with advisers about potentially backing primary challenges to disloyal Republicans.