
Kevin McCarthy defends remarks on leaked audio, telling Republicans foes trying to divide them
CNN
At a closed-door Republican conference meeting Wednesday, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy gave a full-throated defense of his recently leaked comments where he expressed concern about far-right House Republicans inciting violence in the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection.
The California Republican said Wednesday that the effort was all part of an attempt to divide the GOP conference ahead of the midterms, according to several sources at meeting. McCarthy got a standing ovation, the sources said.
McCarthy defended the remarks as saying they needed to discuss every scenario — and the tapes only included a portion of his comments and don't have the full context. He also said that he doesn't talk about GOP members publicly and only does in private — and if there are any problems, they should discuss the matter privately, according to the sources.

Janet Mills and her allies are counting on a gender gap to narrow Platner’s wide lead ahead of the June 9 primary to decide who will face incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. They are betting that the unfiltered style that has brought Platner widespread attention as someone who could help Democrats reach young men will backfire with women.

As a shrinking number of Transportation Security Administration agents work to keep hourslong security lines moving despite not being paid, President Donald Trump stepped into the fray Saturday, announcing he will send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports by Monday if Congress doesn’t agree to a plan to end the partial government shutdown.











