House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is heard on newly-released audiotapes describing Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6th riot at the Capitol as “atrocious” and suggesting that invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office would take “too long.”

The news comes courtesy of a call recorded by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns for a new book titled, “This Will Not Pass.”

“Look, what the president did is atrocious and totally wrong,” McCarthy said of Trump in what is described as a “House Republican expanded leadership call” recorded on January 8th.

The California Republican indicated he would reach out to Joe Biden and express opposition to the impeachment process noting that the President-elect at the time would be stymied in his Cabinet selections if some candidates were engaging in a trial.

He also noted impeachment would likely divide the nation.

“I do think the impeachment divides the nation further and continues to divide it even greater,” McCarthy says. “That’s why I want to reach out to Biden.”

Kevin McCarthy is also heard on the audio recording discussing the 25th Amendment, but noting it would take “too long” to implement.

The 25th Amendment is a constitutional provision allowing for the removal of the President should he be deemed medically, or as some were suggesting at the time, mentally unfit.

During the phone conversation, a GOP staff member noted Democrats were undecided politically on how to deal with the fallout of the Capitol riot, adding that the amendment was a possibility.