On Monday, Trump acknowledged that he was at least partly responsible for what happened in the U.S. Last Wednesday at the Capitol.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke on Monday with Trump and later expressed Trump’s feelings to fellow House Republicans.
The specifics were reported to CBS News by many Republicans familiar with the exchange.
On the same day, Mr. Trump met face-to-face with Vice President Pence in the Oval Office for the first time since the deadly siege, during which demonstrators were heard shouting, ‘Hang Mike Pence!’
The outreach to senior Republicans comes as the House is expected to vote on a resolution on Tuesday calling on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment with Cabinet secretaries to force trump out of office. The House is set to vote Wednesday on an impeachment article against Trump if Pence and the Cabinet do not do so, holding him accountable for provoking the mob that attacked the Capitol, leaving five people dead.
Although many Congressional Republicans, including McCarthy, have expressed opposition to impeaching Mr. Trump for a second time, a handful of Republican senators have indicated that they are open to impeachment charges or have called on Trump to resign before his term expires on January 20.
During a conference call on Monday, McCarthy recounted details of his call with Trump to fellow Republicans.
McCarthy wrote in a letter sent to House Republicans and obtained by CBS News that he remains opposed to impeachment, writing that it would “have the opposite effect of bringing our country together when we need to get America back on a path towards unity and civility.”
He said conference members had suggested other ways to address the Capitol riots on Wednesday, including setting up a bipartisan commission to study the assault, reforming the 1887 Electoral Count Act, and creating legislation to “promote voter confidence in future federal elections.”
A resolution of censure was the other option McCarthy mentioned, although he did not say who would be censored. The letter did not mention Mr. Trump by name.
McCarthy also reiterated to fellow House Republicans that he also believes that the president bears some responsibility for the mob and the assault on the Capitol.
During the assault on Wednesday, the House leader was among many senior Republicans who spoke with the President and pleaded with him to call off his supporters and send military assistance to calm the disturbance.
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