Trump reportedly spoke with McCarthy following revelations congressman considered telling him to resign

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Donald Trump reportedly spoke on the phone after newly released audio recordings revealed that the California Republican told GOP leadership that then-President Trump should resign following the 6 January, 2021 attack on the US Capitol led by a mob of his supporters.

The Washington Post reports that the two men spoke on Thursday night following the release of audio obtained by The New York Times from phone calls between Mr McCarthy and Republican officials in which he said that he “had it” with Mr Trump and would recommend that he resign – contrary to Mr McCarthy’s own statements that previous reports that he ever made such remarks were “totally false and wrong.”

Audio clips from a 10 January, 2021 phone call were published after Mr McCarthy disputed reports that he had privately suggested Mr Trump’s resignation. The recording captures him telling Republican US Rep Liz Cheney – who would later be ousted from her leadership role within the party over her refusal to support Mr Trump – that he is “seriously thinking of having that conversation with him” as congressional Democrats prepared to impeach the president.

“It would be my recommendation you should resign,” Mr McCarthy says on the recording. “Now this is one personal fear I have. I do not want to get in any conversation about [then-Vice President Mike Pence] pardoning.”

He also told leaders that he has “had it with this guy,” in apparent reference to Mr Trump. “What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend that, and nobody should defend it.”

The audio and reporting of the call came from Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, two reporters for The New York Times, from their forthcoming book This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future. Audio also was aired on MSNBC on Thursday night.

A spokesperson for US Rep Liz Cheney said she did not obtain or leak recordings of the conversation.

The Independent has requested comment from Mr McCarthy and a spokesperson for Mr Trump

In another call on 11 January, 2021, from audio obtained by CNN, Mr McCarthy told Republican leaders that he has been “very clear to the president” that “he bears responsibility for his words and actions.”

“No if, ands or buts,” he said, according to audio of the call obtained by CNN. “I asked him personally today, does he hold responsibility for what happened? Does he feel bad about what happened? He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened. And he needs to acknowledge that.”