According to a source, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy discussed the possibility of expunging both of Donald Trump’s impeachment convictions with the former president during a private call. McCarthy told Trump that he personally supported the idea and would bring it up at the conference to assess support for the move. According to the additional information provided by the source, he did not guarantee to bring it to the floor.
McCarthy, a Republican from California, has been putting in extra effort to attempt to appease Trump following an interview he gave one month ago. In that interview, McCarthy stated that he believes the former president can win in 2024, but that he did not know if he was the “strongest” candidate, which prompted indignation from Trump’s advisors and allies. McCarthy has since been working overtime to try to appease Trump.
The speaker’s alleged infraction once again prompted President Trump and members of his inner circle to inquire as to the reason he had not yet endorsed former President Obama for his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. According to sources who talked to CNN at the time, McCarthy called Trump after the interview to apologize and claimed that he had misspoken on CNBC. On this call, there may have been further promises made, but it is not clear what they were.
The endorsement of the position expressed by McCarthy to Trump was initially reported by Politico, although McCarthy denied the premise in the Politico reporting that he had committed to hold the vote. Politico stated that McCarthy made the statement to Trump.
When reporters on Thursday questioned McCarthy if he had committed to hold the vote on expungement, McCarthy responded with a resounding “No.” When asked further on whether or not he would promise to not holding a vote, he stated that it should “go through committee like anything else.
