Trump could target Kevin McCarthy in CPAC speech: report

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Former President Trump is fighting mad at House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., over his support of Rep. Liz Cheney’s number three leadership spot in the House GOP, according to a report. 

McCarthy could even be in for a public rebuke in Trump’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Sunday. Three sources close to Trump told Politico his gripes about the California Republican have become so frequent that "his advisers think the House minority leader may be in for a public reprimand."

Meanwhile, McCarthy praised Trump in his CPAC address. "It was the forgotten man and woman that Donald Trump listened to the voice of that no one else would listen to," he said. 

McCarthy broke with Trump in January when he said the former president bears "some responsibility" for the attack on the Capitol. He flew out to Mar-a-Lago weeks later to patch things up and meet with Trump to plan a GOP takeover of the  House in 2022. 

Cheney roiled the party last month when she voted to impeach Trump and Trump-aligned congress members like Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., soon called for her ouster from House leadership.

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But 145 members of the House Republican Conference ended up backing Cheney, with just 61 Trump loyalists voting to remove her from her leadership role during a secret ballot vote earlier this month.

During the meeting, McCarthy strongly spoke out in support of Cheney.

"This Republican Party's a very big tent, everyone's invited in," McCarthy said. 

McCarthy and Cheney had an uncomfortable exchange with reporters last week over whether Trump should be speaking at CPAC. 

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"Yes, he should," McCarthy said in a brief response after being asked by a reporter.

"That’s up to CPAC," Cheney said in response to the same question. "I’ve been clear about my views of President Trump and the extent to which, following Jan. 6., I don't believe that he should be playing a role in the future of the party or the country."