GOP Leader McCarthy Says Pelosi “Owes the American Public an Apology”

GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy took to Twitter Friday to call for Speaker Pelosi to apologize to the American public.

The Speaker of the House moved to have an impeachment inquiry *before* she read one word of evidence. Now that the transcript and whistleblower complaint are out, she owes the American public an apology.

The Speaker of the House moved to have an impeachment inquiry *before* she read one word of evidence. Now that the transcript and whistleblower complaint are out, she owes the American public an apology.

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) September 27, 2019

Per Newsweek, McCarthy and other Republicans have sought to depict Pelosi’s decision to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump—which followed mounting calls from Democrats and after a whistleblower complaint raised questions about whether Trump sought to arrange a quid pro quo with the Ukrainian president—as an attempt to undo the 2016 election. The Minority Leader issued biting remarks about the Speaker on Wednesday, questioning whether she should retain her position and claiming that she was damaging the country.

“What I’m concerned [about] now is the speaker of the House changed the course of that office for the history of this country. That a body that brings legislation, a body that represents the rule of law would change the course of what it actually means. To claim that a president had violated a law with no information, based it on a whistleblower, she does not know that wasn’t even on a phone call, to claim that the president did a quid pro quo and mentioned Biden’s name eight times, but when this transcript comes out I want—is it out?” McCarthy told reporters after being asked whether he thought the impeachment decision would galvanize the Trump voter base.

“So I think at the end of the day the speaker owes an apology to this nation, and I think it’s even a question why she should stay in her job.”

Worth noting that when McCarthy said “No one has read this transcript,” he surprised some of his own colleagues who knew he had been at the WH earlier this morning — for the explicit purpose of reading the transcript in advance of its public release. https://t.co/mo6krn7w17

— Ashley Parker (@AshleyRParker) September 25, 2019