WASHINGTON — Key Republicans continue to signal their support for dumping House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney from her leadership post, with momentum building as Cheney has held former President Donald Trump to account for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and stood firm that the 2020 election was not stolen.
Cheney, a staunch Wyoming conservative and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has lost key support from her House GOP leadership colleagues. GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that members are concerned about Cheney’s ability to lead. And House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, the No. 2 in leadership, announced his support for New York Republican Elise Stefanik to replace Cheney. Stefanik is a Trump loyalist who is defined less by her previous votes against Trump policies than by her ardent defense of Trump, notably during his first impeachment.
Data compiled by CQ Vote Watch shows Cheney voted the same way other Republicans did far more often than Stefanik did during Trump’s presidency, especially after Democrats took control of the House in 2019.
Cheney’s “party unity score” was never lower than 96% from 2017 through 2020, while Stefanik’s scores were at 88% and 87% in 2017 and 2018, dropped to 68% in 2019, and then rose to 82% in 2020.
Cheney also voted more often than Stefanik did for the positions Trump took, a statistic known as her presidential support score. In 2019, for example, Cheney voted for the positions Trump supported 97% of the time, compared with 93% for the average Republican and 61% for Stefanik.
Regardless, House Republican leaders are looking past Cheney.
“House Republicans need to be solely focused on taking back the House in 2022 and fighting against Speaker Pelosi and President Biden’s radical socialist agenda, and Elise Stefanik is strongly committed to doing that, which is why Whip Scalise has pledged to support her for Conference Chair,” Lauren Fine, a spokesperson for Scalise, said in a statement.
Jeremy Adler, a Cheney spokesperson, said: “Liz will have more to say in the coming days. This moment is about much more than a House leadership fight.”
On Wednesday, Trump announced he is backing Stefanik, whom he called a “far superior choice” compared to Cheney. Trump called Cheney a “warmongering fool.” Among the key differences between Trump and Stefanik has been Stefanik’s criticism of proposed troop withdrawals from Syria. She also worked for the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney, the current Utah senator who voted twice to convict Trump after impeachment trials.
Stefanik tweeted her thanks, using the social media platform Trump is still banned from for violating its terms of agreement, specifically the former president’s inciting violence on Jan. 6.
“Thank you President Trump for your 100% support for House GOP Conference Chair. We are unified and focused on FIRING PELOSI & WINNING in 2022!” she tweeted Wednesday.
McCarthy denied this latest installment of Cheney discontent stems from her vote to impeach Trump. The conference held a referendum on Cheney’s impeachment vote in early February that she won in a convincing manner, 145-61. This is about whether the Republican Party is going to perpetuate lies about the 2020 election and attempt to whitewash what happened on Jan. 6. Liz will not do that. That is the issue.Jeremy Adler, Cheney spokesperson
“There’s no concern about how she voted on impeachment,” McCarthy said on Fox on Tuesday. “That decision has been made. I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair. To carry out the message. We all need to be working as one if we’re able to win the majority.”
In response to that interview, Adler, Cheney’s spokesperson said: “This is about whether the Republican Party is going to perpetuate lies about the 2020 election and attempt to whitewash what happened on Jan 6. Liz will not do that. That is the issue.”
