House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told reporters on Thursday that he is "very high" on former President Donald Trump.
Asked about a possible endorsement in the Republican presidential primary race in 2024, he said, "I haven't made an endorsement yet."
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"But," he added, "I'm very high on President Trump."
"As you know, we worked very close together, and you know how strong America was under President Trump," he explained.
Last month, however, McCarthy expressed doubt during a television interview over whether Trump was the strongest candidate for Republicans in 2024. "The question is, is he the strongest to win the election? I don't know that answer," he said on CNBC's Squawk Box.
That evening, he quickly course-corrected, telling Breitbart that Trump is “stronger today than he was in 2016.”
Over 60 members of the House of Representatives have endorsed the former president going into the primary.
Trump is polling at 56% among potential Republican primary voters, according to Morning Consult. DeSantis, who is endorsed by five representatives, is supported by 17%.
Despite Trump's double-digit lead in the race, concerns have grown out of the former president's recent missteps in Iowa, whose caucuses are first in the nation.
Last week, Trump confirmed reports of a brewing feud with Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA), a notoriously popular Republican in the state, by making a social media post questioning her choice to stay neutral during the campaigns.
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Afterward, it was revealed that he would be missing an important event among social conservatives in Iowa, the Family Leadership Summit. Trump's team attributed his absence to a scheduling conflict. They offered to send Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) in Trump's place, but the Family Leader declined, noting that it doesn't accept surrogates, as a rule.
Some Republican strategists and leaders in the state have predicted that his support will deflate among Iowans as a result. However, the effect of his recent actions remains to be seen.