Scalise: ‘Strong, Open Relationship’ With Speaker

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., on Sunday touted his relationship with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., shooting down any notion of a rift.

“We have a very strong, open relationship,” Scalise told ABC’s “This Week.”

“We don’t always agree on everything, but we have a very candid relationship.”

When asked Sunday by ABC News host Martha Raddatz about a New York Times report earlier this month indicating McCarthy feels he can’t rely on the majority leader, Scalise responded: “The speaker and I talked multiple times a day in these last few days leading up to the debt ceiling vote. In fact, Kevin called me the night before the vote at around midnight. We were still working at the Capitol, working out final details, and the speaker called me.”

The Times reported that McCarthy regarded Scalise as “‘an essential partner of the entire leadership team’ and ‘integral’ to the party’s success.” The statement follows a concerted effort to elect Scalise as house speaker in January.