Republicans officially voted to elect Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York to replace Rep. Liz Cheney in Republican House leadership on Thursday. The 134-46 vote puts Stefanik in charge of chairing the GOP conference instead of her contender Rep. Chip Roy of Texas.
Former President Donald Trump previously endorsed Stefanik for the position multiple times, often touting her as a “gifted communicator” who cared about conservative values and winning elections, unlike the “bitter” Cheney.
“Elise has the intelligence, an endorsement from American Patriot Brandon Judd and the National Border Patrol Council, she has an A+ from the NRA, and she loves our Veterans. We need someone in Leadership who has experience flipping districts from Blue to Red as we approach the important 2022 midterms, and that’s Elise! She knows how to win, which is what we need!” Trump said in a statement.
Others such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and Rep. Jim Jordan also backed Stefanik as the most qualified candidate to replace Cheney.
Republicans ousted Cheney from her position in GOP House leadership on Wednesday after McCarthy hosted a voice vote to remove her. Republicans previously voted to keep her in a 145-61 vote back in February. Cheney’s opposition to Trump and unwillingness to embrace the new GOP created under his administration played a large role in Republicans’ decision to remove her. In addition to supporting the Democrats’ second round of impeachment shenanigans targeting Trump, Cheney and her Never Trump allies such as Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., have used the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to justify attacking other Republicans, causing frustration among the GOP, with McCarthy reportedly saying he “lost confidence” in Cheney’s ability to lead.
After being shunned by her party and voters in her own state, Cheney joined Fox News on Thursday to give a crazed rant about Trump and the future of the GOP and to defend her lies about the Russian bounty story that has been largely discredited.
This is WILD. Liz Cheney takes issue with @BretBaier's questions about balancing opposing Biden and denouncing Trump, so she goes full Stelter and trash Fox News, suggesting they've failed to do their jobs.
Baier repeatedly notes he and his show have. Cheney didn't like that. pic.twitter.com/IWR1QnIsn7
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 13, 2021
Tonight, Cheney attempted to downplay how key she was to spreading the false Afghanistan bounty info op. But the way she worked so hard to push the lie into the media bothered fellow members and intel officials last year. More here. https://t.co/ZLr64ggu4n https://t.co/pnVk755pVK
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) May 14, 2021