WASHINGTON (AP) — Top House Republican Kevin McCarthy on Sunday publicly endorsed Rep. Elise Stefanik for the post of No. 3 leader, cementing party support of the Donald Trump loyalist over Rep. Liz Cheney, an outspoken critic of former President Trump.
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House Republicans could vote as early as Wednesday to remove Cheney, the highest-ranking woman in the Republican leadership and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, and replace her with Stefanik, whose ascension has received Trump’s backing.
Asked in an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” whether he supported Stefanik, R-N.Y., for the job of Republican Conference chair, McCarthy responded: “Yes, I do.”
“We want to be united in moving forward, and I think that is what will take place,” he said in response to a question about whether he had the votes to oust Cheney, R-Wyo.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy throws his support behind Rep. Elise Stefanik for House GOP Conference Chair:pic.twitter.com/iLD8YTHUBu
— Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) May 9, 2021
McCarthy said the leadership post must focus on a message “day in and day out” on what he said were the problems of the Biden administration.
Cheney has taken on Republicans, including McCarthy, R-Calif., saying those who indulge Trump’s false claims of a stolen presidential election are “spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system.” In an opinion essay Wednesday in The Washington Post, she denounced the “dangerous and anti-democratic Trump cult of personality,” and warned her fellow Republicans against embracing or ignoring his statements “for fundraising and political purposes.”
She also said McCarthy had “changed his story” after initially saying Trump “bears responsibility” for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. McCarthy initially criticized Trump’s actions, and in a private call during the insurrection, had urged the then-president to call off the rioters. The GOP leader now says he does not believe Trump provoked the riot.
McCarthy on Sunday denied that Republicans’ effort to remove Cheney was based on her views of Trump or being one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6 riot. He said she was distracting from Republicans’ bid to win back the House in 2022 and successfully oppose President Joe Biden’s agenda, goals that McCarthy believes will need Trump’s support.
McCarthy complained last week that he had “lost confidence” in Cheney and “had it with her” over her continuing remarks about Trump, according to a leaked recording of his exchange on “Fox and Friends.”
The second-ranking House Republican leader, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, already has announced his support for Stefanik.
McCarthy is a little coward. Cheney is a true conservative. GOPQ is the party of delusional conspiracy theories and infatuation with the dear leader. All sane Republicans see the disaster of the new GOPQ. Apparently, Republican leadership isn’t yet tired of all the losing.
#1 ‐ destroy any internal opponent or dissent to The Leader.
#2 ‐ keep up the daily propaganda the election was stolen and only The Leader can save us
#3 ‐ make the Press and racial minorities the Enemy
WHERE HAVE WE SEEN THIS BEFORE?
The fake news will continue to lie. But the truth is this is not a pro vs anti trump. One is entitled to hate trump who has many faults and is divisive . But stop harping and causing friction . Just ignore Trump and work on the issues that matter. The AP won’t admit this but the truth is that it’s about moving past Trump and letting it go. Trump gains from a Cheney more than the republicans. Stop talking about him