Congressman Mo Brooks does not believe a surreptitiously taped conversation between House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is that big of a deal.
However, he said it could be a "burden" he will have to deal with in his quest to become Speaker of the House should Republicans take control of the U.S. House of Representatives after the November elections.
During an interview with Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Brooks, who is also running for the U.S. Senate, chalked up a conversation between McCarthy and Cheney in which McCarthy said he would ask then-President Donald Trump to resign after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot to politics.
Brooks said the subject could come up when McCarthy seeks to win the speakership, which requires 218 votes from members of the House.
"It's a minor reaction," Brooks said. "We have people speaking off the cuff on a regular basis. I'm a little bit disturbed that someone would secretly tape-record a conversation with Kevin McCarthy. If that happened in Washington, D.C., then it is a criminal offense. But it is not surprising. A lot of people in politics say different things to different people, unfortunately. That is much too common of an occurrence. You're seeing it in this United States Senate race where people now look at the polling data. They say exactly what the public wants to hear, so they're just parroting it back to the public. That's not the way our republic is supposed to operate. We're supposed to be candid in our assessments of what we think is the right thing to do. Then the public can make a decision on which path they believe is best.
"Now what happened with Kevin McCarthy and Donald Trump -- it's apparently tape-recorded. So, I don't think there is any way you can contest that is, in fact, what Kevin McCarthy said. How it will play out in this race for the speaker, I don't know. But it is another little burden he is going to have to carry if the Republicans capture the House if he seeks the speaker's position. Quite frankly, I don't know anyone else that is in a competitive posture vis-à-vis, Kevin McCarthy. For those who don't know, you have to get a solid 218 votes. It's not a majority of those voting or a plurality of those voting. You have to have 218 votes, 50% plus one of the members of the United States Congress. And so, that's a big hurdle for anybody to get. And if the Republicans split, none of them get to 218, and we have no speakership until the time someone gets that 218."
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com.
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