McCarthy dings Biden: Notice mask orders ended 'Gasoline went to $7, and they wanted change in news'

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Stefanik: Democrats' far left, radical agenda is taking us in wrong direction

House GOP leadership discusses growth and the future of the party on 'Hannity'

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and newly-minted House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik joined "Hannity" on Friday for their first joint interview since the latter unseated Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., from her leadership post.

McCarthy, R-Calif., criticized President Joe Biden amid a sudden about-face in his administration's mask mandates. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky announced earlier that vaccinated Americans no longer must wear masks in public settings.

As McCarthy alluded to, blackhat hackers reportedly residing in Russia stymied Colonial Pipeline's operations – which supply nearly half of the east coast's oil. Gas stations from the deep South to at least as far north as Reisterstown, Md., have experienced outages of gasoline.

"I see Joe as out of it, a little checked out. I am concerned that I am not the only one that sees it," host Sean Hannity told McCarthy, following a bipartisan White House meeting the leader attended.

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"You know the only reason why they changed not wearing the mask?" McCarthy responded. "Gasoline went to $7 and there were gasoline lines and he wanted to change the news."

"I believe in the vaccine. I've been vaccinated. I don't need to wear the mask. We need to get back to work, back to school, back to health and back to normal. It's simple. That's the only thing we should focus on."

McCarthy later added that while Biden seemed "engaging" during the White House meeting, he was nowhere near the energy level of former President Donald Trump.

"In the first week [of his presidency, Trump] had a bipartisan meeting inside the White House. This was the first time [Biden] had any bipartisan meeting. Think of the crises that are happening."

Turning to Stefanik, a fourth-term congresswoman representing New York State's "North Country", Hannity noted that Cheney holds a markedly higher voting record rating from the American Conservative Union her successor.

Stefanik responded that she agrees with all of the tenets of Trump's "America First Agenda" laid out previously by Hannity.

"We are experiencing multiple crises under President Biden and Speaker Pelosi. Republicans will fight on behalf of the American families who are concerned about the radical direction this administration is taking us," she said.

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Stefanik noted that her district, which runs from north of Albany to the Canadian border near Plattsburgh, voted twice for President Obama and then for Trump – showing that Trump's policies are politically transcendent and that she represents her district well.

"I am a strong conservative Republican that will work to unite our Republican conference and stand up for the American people."