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.
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“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.”
Trump’s surprise opposition to a COVID-19 relief and omnibus spending package means the government could shut down on Tuesday, days before runoff elections in Georgia that will determine the Senate majority.
Trump’s flurry of moves have divided the Republican Party, as has his series of controversial pardons that Democrats are criticizing as a gross misuse of authority.
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It is in that environment that lawmakers will seek a way forward next week unless Trump pulls a new surprise and either signs or vetoes the massive $2.3 trillion spending package in the coming days. The president is spending the holidays at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He spent Thursday at his golf course.
She said that under House guidelines, legislation can’t be considered by unanimous consent unless there is bipartisan approval from House floor and committee leadership.
Thursday’s effort by House Democrats to provide $2,000 direct payments won’t be their last. Speaker Nancy Pelosi
“To vote against this bill is to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny them the relief they need,” she said in a statement. “Hopefully by then the President will have already signed the bipartisan and bicameral legislation to keep the government open and to deliver coronavirus relief.”
Trump has not explicitly said he would veto the year-end legislation, and it’s unclear how he will ultimately proceed. He could still sign the bill, despite his misgivings.