Ahmad Austin Jr.May 7th, 2026, 3:13 pm

Two former Republican leaders on Thursday revealed who in President Donald Trump’s administration they trust to reliably give him advice.

That afternoon, former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was joined by former U.S. Rep. Patick McHenry (R-TN), who also briefly led the House, at the Special Competitive Studies Project AI+ Expo in Washington, D.C. At one point in the discussion, the moderator asked the two which “brains” they were relying on to give Trump sound advice.

McCarthy gave a handful of names, saying:

Look, I think [U.S. special counsel Jamieson Greer] is fabulous, and he’s been around before. He’s brilliant on this. I think [Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent] has impressed everybody, has he not? You gotta use that mechanism.

And I’m gonna give two people, or I’ll do three more. You may know one: Marco Rubio. That guy can do anything. The memes are right… But when they asked him the question, he answers it from the soul of America. I think really captures it.

But I will tell you the Joint Chief [Gen. Dan Caine]– Kane is remarkable in serving his time. And I’m gonna tell you this, the director of the CIA, [John Ratcliffe]. Radcliffe doesn’t go do TV, but I’ll tell you, when our airman was down, it wasn’t the military who found him. It was the CIA through a heartbeat. And we were able to throw them off and got there.

McCarthy went on to praise the Trump administration’s operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, adding that the trio of Rubio, Caine, and Ratcliffe are often with the president when such actions are taken.

McHenry largely agreed with McCarthy, adding:

Yeah, and I agree with you. Director Ratcliffe does not get the attention he deserves because he’s not out seeking attention, but he’s a man of great substance and high keen intellect.

Watch above via C-SPAN

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