House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday sharply criticized House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for his “inconsistencies” on lawmakers’ safety after the release of an audio recording in which he voiced concern that fellow House Republicans might incite further violence in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Pelosi blasts McCarthy over ‘inconsistencies’ on lawmakers’ safety
In a report Tuesday night, the New York Times detailed McCarthy’s comments to fellow Republican leaders about several members of the House GOP conference days after the Jan. 6 attack. McCarthy cited several House Republicans, including Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and Mo Brooks (Ala.), who had used incendiary language or criticized specific GOP colleagues in the wake of the attack.
“He’s putting people in jeopardy,” McCarthy said of Gaetz, according to the Times.
Pelosi on Friday juxtaposed McCarthy’s comments with his previous statements condemning the fines levied on GOP lawmakers for attempting to bypass the metal detectors that were installed outside the House chamber after Jan. 6.
“It was interesting to me that the leader talked about the concern that he had … about his members causing danger here and at the same time complaining that we had magnetometers to keep guns off the floor of the House,” Pelosi said during her weekly news conference.
She also alluded to an incident earlier this week in which freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) was stopped as he was going through security at Charlotte Douglas International Airport after a TSA officer detected a loaded gun in his carry-on bag.
Cawthorn’s gun was confiscated, and the lawmaker was cited for possession of a dangerous weapon on city property, then released. Some Democrats have responded by seeking answers about the agency’s handling of such incidents and urging stiffer penalties for repeat offenders. The incident marked the second time that Cawthorn had been cited for carrying a firearm at an airport security checkpoint.
“It just seemed inconsistent to me, especially now that one of his members was seen taking a gun into an airport,” Pelosi said of McCarthy, without naming Cawthorn. “I thought you were arrested for that, trying to take a gun on a plane. I guess … his member was treated differently.”
Pressed further by reporters on McCarthy’s comments, Pelosi replied, “I’m not going to spend this meeting talking about Kevin McCarthy’s inconsistencies with his caucus.”
“People have to make a judgment about how the Republicans in Congress hold their members accountable. And they can’t say in one breath, ‘I’m afraid that they’re going to cause danger to other members’ and at the same time complained about my having magnetometers on the floor of the House. That’s all I’m going to say about it,” she said.
Lori Aratani contributed to this report.
Source: WP
