Rep. Kevin McCarthy is waiting for the other shoe to drop.

An audio recording of a January 10th, 2021 phone call with GOP leaders obtained by The New York Times revealed that McCarthy wanted Donald Trump to resign from the presidency. The audio, released Thursday, contradicted McCarthy’s vehement denial about the nature of the conversation. It could also jeopardize his standing with the America First contingent of the Republican Party, a group he must keep placated if he wants to become the Speaker of the House at any point in the foreseeable future.

The first bit of blowback came from Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Trump diehard from Florida. Gaetz suggested, without evidence, that Rep. Liz Cheney recorded the phone call that has landed McCarthy in hot water.

 “While I was rallying in Wyoming against Liz Cheney … Kevin McCarthy was defending Liz Cheney among House Republicans … While Liz Cheney was secretly recording Kevin McCarthy for the New York Times,” Gaetz wrote in a tweet.

“@GOPLeader – you should have trusted my instincts, not your own,” he added.

While Gaetz is peeved with McCarthy, The Washington Post reports that Trump and the GOP leader spoke on the phone after the audio was released and that Trump “was not upset about McCarthy’s remarks and was glad the Republican leader didn’t follow through, which Trump saw as a sign of his continued grip on the Republican Party.”

The outlet adds:

But House Republicans are still waiting for a firm statement from Trump, according to multiple GOP aides, on how to determine whether they should still back McCarthy as their current leader and potential speaker if the GOP regains the majority in the November election.

“If Trump comes out and says [McCarthy] lost my faith and can’t be speaker, that is bold. That will move people. If he puts out a statement complaining — he complains about McConnell all the time and hasn’t threatened his position in leadership,” said one Republican congressional aide who asked for anonymity to discuss private conversations.

POLITICO reports on the key questions that will determine where the McCarthy situation heads next:

How will the more traditional House Republicans react? [A] senior GOP lawmaker noted that many Hill Republicans freaked out during and after the Jan. 6 attack. “Thank God my private conversations weren’t recorded after Jan. 6,” the lawmaker said. “We were all very emotional.” In that sense, they argued, Republicans on the Hill could be more forgiving of McCarthy because they were in the same boat: concerned about Trump, but too afraid of him to do or say anything about it.

The senior GOP aide, however, wasn’t so sure. They noted that the entire situation Thursday shows that McCarthy has a “trust” issue.

“He’s a bald-faced liar who literally just has no problem completely lying. And that doesn’t sit well with members,” the senior aide said. Still, they noted that McCarthy has plenty of time before a potential speaker run to win back any defectors.

Here’s a round-up of other reactions to the release of the McCarthy tape: