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Liz Cheney entered this week knowing it would likely be her last as a member of the House Republican leadership team.
The Wyoming congresswoman fully expected to lose her position as the No. 3 Republican in the House ahead of her conference’s vote on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with her thinking.
But Cheney is also planning to take advantage of her removal as a way to further her fight against former President Trump’s grip over the GOP and continue hammering the message that got her in trouble in the first place: that Trump’s lies about the 2020 election are damaging for her party and the country.
Four months after the Jan. 6 insurrection, Cheney has told friends she “does not believe Trump will just fade away” and that she’s planning to wage a protracted political war – through public statements and in the media – against the former President.
On Tuesday evening, Cheney struck a defiant tone from the House floor, warning that Trump’s lies risk inciting further violence and threatening democracy.
On Wednesday morning, House Republicans ousted Cheney by voice vote behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, and are likely to replace her with New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has a less conservative voting record than Cheney but has emerged as one of Trump’s top defenders.
The way Cheney sees it, according to sources, Wednesday’s vote is a chance to put her GOP colleagues on the record: They are either voting for truth and the rule of law or they are voting to continue down the path of lies and insurrection.
“I think it’s a mistake to think that she’s going to fade,” said one person who knows Cheney well.
That will almost certainly continue to bring Cheney into conflict with Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, especially if investigations on Capitol Hill and from the Justice Department focus on the events surrounding the Jan.m6 riot. And the prevailing House GOP message of unity over all will continue to heighten the tension between Cheney and the rest of the conference.
But Cheney is also facing her own electoral challenge. In order to be fully effective in her anti-Trump campaign she’ll need to survive a competitive Republican primary for her at-large district in Wyoming next year. With Trump and his allies looking to defeat her there, Cheney’s political future is at stake as she makes her next moves.
The question for Cheney is how large and prominent her platform will be once she is no longer a member of the GOP leadership team. The damage done to her brand within the House Republican conference has been significant since her colleagues last voted 145-61 in favor of keeping her in leadership.
Read more here.
Rep. Elise Stefanik says she “absolutely” has enough votes in the House GOP conference locked up to secure her election to House Conference Chair, even if someone else decides to jump in the race.
When asked whether she still stands behind her January contention that 140,000 votes in Kern County were unauthorized, she said only that “I stand by my statement that there are serious issues related to election irregularities in the state of Georgia, as well as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin.”
But when pressed if she still believes that those votes were illegitimate, she would only say, “I think there are questions that are important for the American people to hear answers to.”
There are rumblings among Republican lawmakers that Freedom Caucus Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texan, will jump in the conference chair race to challenge Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, if no one else gets in the race, but Roy himself remains cagey about what his plans are.
“Everybody keeps asking these questions” Roy told CNN when asked directly if he plans to get in the race.
If Roy were to enter the race, he has very little chance of winning broad support among the party.
Stefanik, the only candidate officially in the race, has locked down considerable support amongst her colleagues.
Instead of saying what he plans to do, Roy called for a debate over who should fill the post.
“I don’t believe there should be a coronation, I think we should have a debate” Roy told CNN. “I would remind people that Conference woman Cheney has only been out of her position for about five hours. Right? So, the idea that there was some sort of candidate or race before this morning is actually facially absurd.”
On Tuesday, Roy sent a letter to his colleagues calling on more candidates to get into the race and voicing his opposition to Stefanik taking over the post.
The GOP caucus vote to remove Rep. Liz Cheney from her position as conference chair was barely over before several right-wing GOP members of Congress, all of whom support former President Trump, started giddily lampooning her defeat on social media.
Freshman GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn tweeted “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye Liz Cheney.” Cawthorn was also spotted this weekend dining with the former President and Melania Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, who has shown support for conspiracy theories like QAnon, and is one of many Republicans who voted against the counting of electoral votes for Joe Biden, tweeted, “Liz Cheney seems to be auditioning for a job with the Lincoln Project.”
A reference to the GOP Anti-Trump campaign group formed to help defeat Trump at the ballot box, and whose stated goals are to “ensure Trumpism failed alongside him.”
Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz wrote, “Liz Cheney is the masthead for the Establishment in Washington, D.C.”
Gaetz is currently under investigation by the Justice Department over allegations involving sex trafficking and prostitution, including involving a minor, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Gaetz has repeatedly denied the allegations, and charges have not been filed against him.
While meeting with reporters after his meeting at the White House, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy rejected the idea that members of his conference were questioning the results of the election in the wake of the vote to oust Liz Cheney as GOP conference chair.
“Well, first of all, the conference will decide but I don’t think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election. I think that is all over with sitting here with the President today,” he said.
McCarthy’s answer was a response to a question about Rep. Elise Stefanik potentially being named the next House GOP conference chair. Stefanik objected to the 2020 election results and supports a controversial ongoing audit of election results in Maricopa County by a private firm in Arizona.
Ahead of the vote to remove Cheney as conference chair, Cheney told GOP members, “We cannot let the former president drag us backward and make us complicit in his efforts to unravel our democracy. Down that path lies our destruction, and potentially the destruction of our country.”
Despite today’s comments, McCarthy continues to support Trump, and his lies about the election being stolen.
As recently as Monday, Trump blasted out a press release saying “If a thief robs a jewelry store of all of its diamonds (the 2020 Presidential Election), the diamonds must be returned. The Fake News media refuses to cover the greatest Election Fraud in the history of our Country. They have lost all credibility, but ultimately, they will have no choice!”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki reacted to the ouster of Rep. Liz Cheney after the Republican lawmaker lost her party leadership position for speaking out against efforts to overturn the election. Psaki called the development “disturbing” without naming Cheney.
She framed the moment as a choice between conspiracy theories and standing for long-held American ideals.
“And as the President said last week, it’s hard to understand. But our belief, his belief, is that the American people will have to make their own decisions about whether the reaction by the people they elected to represent them should be embracing and elevating conspiracy theories and attacks on our democracy, or whether it should be standing up for ideals that have historically been owned by both Democrats and Republicans representing the country throughout history,” she said.
The vote to oust Rep. Liz Cheney from her leadership position only took 16 minutes.
Before the House GOP conference met this morning to oust Cheney from her leadership position, sources told CNN they expected it to be quick.
But the vote happened so quickly that some members arrived just in time for the vote. It was such a contrast to the more-than four hour meeting and vote that took place on Feb. 4 that kept her in leadership at the time.
The meeting began with Cheney giving remarks to her colleagues, where she called out Trump and other Republicans who aided his efforts to overturn his loss and charging that she would lead “the fight to restore our party and our nation to conservative principles.”
Sources told CNN that when she criticized former President Trump, she was booed by some of her colleagues.
She concluded her remarks with a prayer, which earned her a standing ovation, according to Rep. Ken Buck.
Rep. Virginia Foxx made the motion to recall Cheney, thus formally beginning the process of removing her from her leadership position.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke briefly and the voice vote was called. Because it was a voice vote, there was no tally of those who supported or opposed her.
Following the vote Cheney told reporters she plans to lead the fight to move the party closer to the fundamental principles of conservatism.
Rep. Liz Cheney was voted out of her post in the House Republican leadership after rejecting President Trump’s lie that he won the 2020 presidential election.
CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Dean was live on Capitol Hill answering your questions.
Watch:
GOP leaders are moving swiftly to install Rep. Elise Stefanik as the No. 3 Republican in the House on Friday in a rapid effort to unify the party, but the move comes as a growing number of conservatives are expressing doubts that the New York congresswoman has the credentials or voting record needed to step into the job.
Stefanik is now working to try and reassure conservatives that she won’t buck them on key votes despite a more moderate voting record, members say, but the effort comes as she is facing increasing pressure from members of the House Freedom Caucus.
She is still seen as a favorite by Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and the whip team has already begun an all-out effort on her behalf, but Stefanik’s late embrace of former President Trump, her vote against the former President’s signature tax bill and her fast coronation by leadership has brought to the surface an underlying fissure in the Republican Party that can’t be dissolved even now that Rep. Liz Cheney has been ousted from the job.
It’s not expected to end or even seriously imperil Stefanik’s rise to be the next House Republican Conference chairwoman, but it’s a headache for leaders who are hoping to quickly unite the party after weeks of turmoil.
The House Freedom Caucus, a group of Trump-aligned far-right Republicans led by Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, will hold a forum with Stefanik on Wednesday evening, in which she will face a slew of questions about her record and commitments going forward. The meeting comes after Rep. Chip Roy, a member of the group, sent a letter to colleagues casting doubt on Stefanik’s qualifications earlier in the week.
Read the full story here.
Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn defended GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming for acting in “good conscience” in speaking out against former President Trump’s claims of a stolen election, but also said the internal fight over that issue can’t go on forever because the party needs to unify to stand up to Democrats.
Cornyn noted that Trump is now a “former President” and said Republicans can still find a way to unify, even as Trump uses his megaphone to spout falsehoods.
“Politicians are not unaccustomed to trying to navigate factions or divisions within their political party or within the body politic. The country’s going to be fine,” he said.
President Biden faced a crucial moment on Wednesday in what has been shaping up as an important week for his infrastructure priorities, holding his first bipartisan meeting with the top four members of congressional leadership at the White House.
The meeting also came just hours after Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney lost her position in the House Republican leadership for repeatedly publicly rejecting former President Trump’s lie that he won the 2020 presidential election.
At the start of the meeting, Biden told reporters in the Oval Office that when he ran for president, “I said I wasn’t going to be a Democratic president,” but one for “all Americans.”
Meeting attendees included Vice President Kamala Harris; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican; and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican.
The House Republican Conference is expected to replace Cheney with New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has a less conservative voting record than Cheney but has emerged as one of Trump’s top defenders.
Before the meeting, two senior administration officials said Biden planned to focus on “finding common ground” in his meeting with the congressional leaders and hoped the meeting will help crystallize where deals can be made in the months ahead.
Read more about Biden’s meeting here.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement in response to Rep. Liz Cheney’s removal from the the House Republican leadership.
“For the sake of our democracy, reasonable Republicans across the country must take back their party,” Pelosi continued.
The House Speaker praised Cheney, describing her as “a leader of great courage, patriotism and integrity.”
“Today, House Republicans declared that those values are unwelcome in the Republican party,” Pelosi said.
In the first sign that Republicans are trying to quickly put the Cheney ousting behind them, not even an hour after the vote House Minority Whip Steve Scalise’s office sent a letter to Republican lawmakers on the need to stay focused on their agenda which names House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Biden.
Scalise also writes he will host a series of meetings on Biden’s agenda.
Read a portion of the letter:
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik is trying to reassure conservatives that she won’t buck them on key votes despite her more moderate voting record, according to multiple members.
“That’s what I’ve been told, and she has promised me as well. And I believe her,” said Rep. Buddy Carter of Georgia.
Some context: Stefanik, a staunch defender of former President Donald Trump, has been working the phones for days trying to convince members to back her and is the only candidate in the race, despite growing concerns from more conservative members of the caucus who have raised issues with her voting record.
You can read more about her here.
Democratic Whip Sen. Dick Durbin says the ousting of Rep. Liz Cheney from House GOP leadership this morning was “an act of pure cowardice.”
Rep. Ken Buck, the lone Republican in the House chamber last night when Cheney spoke, said that at this morning’s meeting, Cheney received a “standing ovation” at the end of her prayer.
Buck voted in support of Cheney this morning and does not support Stefanik.
As reported earlier, Cheney was initially booed when she warned the caucus about the effect former president Donald Trump is having on the party, as she said “We cannot let the former president drag us backward and make us complicit in his efforts to unravel our democracy. Down that path lies our destruction, and potentially the destruction of our country.”
It’s important to note that Rep. Liz Cheney will still be a Republican and will still be in Congress despite today’s vote to oust her from Republican leadership.
House Republicans, to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s point, are respectful of the fact that Wyoming’s voters elected Cheney as their representative.
They’ll get the chance to elect Cheney or someone else in 2022 at the midterm election. It seems likely that Cheney will face a primary challenge if she decides to run again. (Read more here about the view from Wyoming, where a lot of Republicans seem to believe Trump won the election.)
House Republicans, who ousted Cheney by voice vote behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, are expected to replace her with New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has a less conservative voting record than Cheney but has emerged as one of Trump’s top defenders. Cheney did not back down in a speech before the voice vote.
CNN’s Alex Rogers contributed reporting to this post.
On the heels of Rep. Liz Cheney’s ousting from her leadership post, Rep. Elise Stefanik is already out with a letter to her colleagues outlining why she wants to fill the post.
House Republicans, who ousted Cheney by voice vote behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, are expected to replace her with Stefanik.
Stefanik has been working the phones for days trying to convince members to back her and is the only candidate in the race, despite growing concerns from more conservative members of the caucus who have raised issues with her voting record.
Former President Trump just released a statement on the ousting of Rep. Liz Cheney from House Republican leader, calling her a “bitter, horrible human being.”
His full statement says:
Cheney was ousted for her vote to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and her continued criticism of him.
GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik now appears poised to become the next House Republican conference chair after the party united against Rep. Liz Cheney for calling out former President Trump’s Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen. Cheney lost lost her post in the House Republican leadership this morning.
Stefanik’s rise within the party and embrace of Trump in recent years represents an evolution that mirrors that of her party, which coalesced behind Trump and remains loyal to him even with the former President no longer in office and after he attempted to overturn the last presidential election and incited a deadly attack on the US Capitol.
In 2016, Stefanik backed Trump as the party’s presidential nominee, but worked to portray herself as an independent voice for her district.
She aligned herself at the time with House Speaker Paul Ryan, another Republican leader who carefully tiptoed around Trump’s more outlandish comments and spoke out occasionally when he believed the President crossed the line.
In those early years, Stefanik largely kept out of the Trump fray, focusing instead on work on the Armed Services and Intelligence committees, though she broke with Trump over some key priorities, including his decision to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord and the 2017 GOP tax bill.
When House Democrats moved to impeach Trump for the first time in 2019, however, Stefanik emerged as one of the President’s most outspoken defenders, earning Trump’s praise in the process with the President calling her “a new Republican star.”
Amid Trump’s false claims over voter fraud and the 2020 election, Stefanik supported an objection during the Electoral College vote count in Congress held to certify President Joe Biden’s win. She also signed on in support of an amicus brief backing a lawsuit from Texas to the Supreme Court that sought to overturn the results of the election in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.
Now, Stefanik has Trump’s backing to replace Cheney with the former President saying that she “is a far superior choice, and she has my COMPLETE and TOTAL Endorsement for GOP Conference Chair.”
Read more about her career here.
