Rep. Matt Gaetz said Thursday he does not believe Kevin McCarthy can be trusted in holding Nancy Pelosi accountable, saying the House minority leader has failed to do so in the past.
Pelosi and other Democrats on the committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol asked several telecommunication companies to preserve records from several Republican lawmakers involved in the “Stop the Steal” rally ahead of the riot. McCarthy said on Aug. 31 that companies who comply with these demands would be “in violation of federal law and subject to losing their ability to operate in the United States,” adding the GOP “will not forget and will be ready to hold them fully accountable under the law.”
Gaetz, in an episode of his podcast Firebrand, said he was impressed with McCarthy’s tough response but doubted McCarthy’s actions would go beyond his written statement. Gaetz also accused McCarthy of weakness in dealing with previous political opponents, such as Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger.
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“How can we trust Kevin McCarthy to go beyond talking tough to Nancy Pelosi when he won’t even stand up to Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger?” Gaetz said.
Gaetz described both Cheney and Kinzinger as “Nancy Pelosi appointees on the Jan. 6 committee” and questioned their party loyalty who are “participating in the Stalinist acts of the tyrannical Left.”
The congressman concluded by saying McCarthy must remove Cheney and Kinzinger from their committees within the Republican conference, and anything less would be considered weakness inviting attack.
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Kinzinger joined the Jan. 6 committee on July 25, and Cheney was named the vice chairwoman of the committee on Sept. 2.
In retaliation to the Democrats’ demands, House Republicans requested private data regarding top Democrats on Sept. 8. Republicans have also threatened to punish companies who comply with the Jan. 6 committee, but some lawyers claim those threats have no teeth.
