The committee, known as Take Back the House 2022, has not raised money for the other five lawmakers: Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Dan Newhouse of Washington State and Tom Rice from South Carolina, according to the latest statements from the Federal Electoral Commission. However, McCarthy’s leadership group, Majority Committee PAC, donated $ 10,000 to González’s campaign in late March.
While the Republican National Committee of Congress benefits from this joint fundraising committee, the House Republican Party campaign group has a long-standing policy of remaining officially neutral in the primaries.
But the committee provides other resources to help incumbents pay dues, while committee chairman Tom Emmer was a special guest at a Herrera Beutler fundraiser last month in Washington state, according to a source with knowledge of the event.
In particular, McCarthy and his confidants have presented the case to Trump and his advisers so that they remain neutral in the primaries of Katko and Valadao, two of the most vulnerable Republicans, but it is unclear what former President Mercury will do, according to a source with knowledge of the subject.
The Republican Party leadership’s effort to help the campaigns of these opposing Republicans has put them at odds with Trump as he confronted some conservatives.
“McCarthy speaks on one side of his mouth and says he supports the MAGA movement, the policies of Trump and President Trump, but his money supports Jaime Herrera Beutler and four of the other voters in the ouster,” he said. say Joe Kent, a Trump supporter Herrera Beutler’s main challenger, told CNN. “It’s just part of the Republican Party dispute. So me and the rest of the base have heard enough of it.”
When Kent was asked if he would support McCarthy as a speaker one day if he is elected to Congress, Kent replied, “Absolutely not.”
His comments underscore the kind of headaches McCarthy faces. Trump’s meddling in Republican Party primaries (especially in key swing districts) threatens to complicate the Republican Party’s path to Parliament to the majority. The California Republican is caught between a right-wing flank loyal to Trump who needs a day to speak and Republican headlines he has promised to protect.
Some of these incumbent lawmakers, such as Herrera Beutler and Upton, are crucial in their quest to reclaim the House, while others, such as Valadao and Katko, are also longtime allies of McCarthy.
Upton, who represents a swing district, has not decided whether to run for a 19th term, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. And Republicans fear that Upton’s primary enemy, Trump-owned state Rep. Steve Carra, will risk his seat if he wins the nomination.
“I don’t care about DC leaders … most DC Republicans are RINO who have no interest in putting America First,” Carra said in an email to CNN. “Kevin McCarthy can choose. He can continue to support anti-Trump Fred Upton, who voted to oust President Donald J. Trump, or he can join the America First movement and support Steve Carra, who now has the total and full support for President Trump. “
But while top House Republicans have publicly warned Trump not to run in the primaries, there are no signs that Republican Party leaders are trying to put any distance between the party and the former president. In fact, Emmer revealed this week that Trump will head a fundraiser for the Republican National Committee of Congress in Tampa this fall, according to a source familiar with the plans.
In an interview earlier this summer, Emmer said he wanted to see how GOP incumbents won their primaries.
“We don’t want Washington’s heavy hand to get into the debate, the discussion, that the components of a particular district have about representation,” Emmer told CNN. “That said, I want them to win.”
But it remains to be seen whether the ten Republicans who voted to oust Trump can overcome their revenge campaign.
McCarthy, however, has no plans to participate in Trump’s pay tour and has pledged to help in the re-election campaigns of the incumbents. It would be extremely rare to see a leader support a main challenger to a sitting member of his own party. And earlier this year, Emmer phoned some of the Republicans who had voted to accuse Trump and told them the party would have its back, according to two sources familiar with the talks.
“I look forward to working with every member of our conference to support their re-election efforts,” McCarthy said in a statement earlier this year. “We will reclaim the House in November 2022.”
So far, Trump has not passed in the fight against Valadao, a close ally of McCarthy and a fellow Californian.
Chris Mathys, a Republican candidate running against Valadao, has said he has written to Trump and has been in contact with Trump advisers while advising the former president’s endorsement, saying it would be “a great honor” and which would be a “huge support for our campaign.” . “But he has not yet spoken to Trump himself.
And when asked about Valadao, Mathys said, “People are livid; they are very upset by Mr. Valadao’s vote of dismissal. They consider it a betrayal.”
Valadao, who on Jan. 6 called Trump’s “inciting rhetoric” “non-American, nasty and absolutely a contested crime,” declined to comment. But earlier this summer, he told CNN that it was “difficult to say” what kind of impact his vote would have on his re-election campaign.
“Everyone has been very, very supportive,” Valadao added when asked about the support he received from Republican Party leaders in his re-election candidacy.
Republicans say they expect Trump to focus on Valadao and Katko, acknowledging that these two in particular could have difficulty being re-elected if they face the former president’s attack.
“It will create serious problems if he (goes after) Valadao and John Katko,” a GOP agent said. “So far he hasn’t.”
Earlier this year, McCarthy set about ripping Cheney off his leadership team for repeatedly repeating Trump’s lies about the election. But some on the right are pushing him to go even further. Members of the Conservative House Freedom Caucus sent a letter to McCarthy last week asking him to completely remove Cheney and Kinzinger from the Republican Party conference.
“How can we trust Kevin McCarthy to go beyond talking to Nancy Pelosi when he won’t even resist Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger?” Gaetz said on his YouTube channel this week.