Republican Leaders Want a Show of Unity. Will Trump Allow It?
The next few days will give Republicans opportunities to stand together or fight among themselves, first when the House of Representatives votes on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus package on Friday and again when Donald…
The next few days will give Republicans opportunities to stand together or fight among themselves, first when the House of Representatives votes on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus package on Friday and again when Donald Trump retakes the global spotlight in a speech to the party’s most conservative members.
The Republican leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives – Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy – have focused on rallying their caucuses against Democratic President Joe Biden’s massive bill and away from internal hostilities over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and former President Trump’s impeachment.
But those efforts could prove hard to maintain when Trump speaks to the Conservative Political Action Committee on Sunday and likely wades into the party’s efforts retake congressional majorities in 2022.
The potential for distraction was on full display at a Wednesday press conference, where House Republican leaders sought to blast the Democratic coronavirus bill.
Reporters used the opportunity to ask if leaders thought Trump should take the spotlight just two months after his supporters launched a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol to press the former president’s false claim that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud.
“Yes, he should,” McCarthy replied. But Representative Liz Cheney, the most senior of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting insurrection, was quick to contradict that view.
“I don’t believe that he should be playing a role in the future of the party or the country,” said Cheney, who survived an effort by Trump loyalists to oust her as conference chair for backing impeachment.
The struggle between the pro-Trump and anti-Trump arms of the Republican Party is a lopsided one.
Trump has already lashed out at his most senior Republican critic, McConnell, who called Trump “practically and morally responsible” for the Jan. 6 Capitol attack that killed five including a police officer.