Rep. Liz Cheney poised to lose leadership position to Trump loyalist
The Wyoming Republican may be ousted by the congresswoman who nominated her to the post
GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming is on the verge of losing her leadership post for refusing to support the Republican lie that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
It seems the vast majority of Republicans are blindly loyal to Trump, so much so they are ready to strip Cheney of leadership duties and replace her with New York Republican and Trump loyalist Rep. Elise Stefanik, NPR reports.
Read More: House GOP leader says he backs ousting Cheney from No. 3 job
“This is the future of the Republican Party, the future of our country — people like Elise,” former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan previously told CBS.
Stefanik reportedly nominated Cheney for the job twice and once praised her as a “huge asset in the role.” Cheney’s relationship with Stefanik and the caucus soured following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, and she criticized Trump for his role in inciting the insurrection.
Stefanik made history when she became the youngest woman elected to Congress in 2015 at age 30. It was Ryan who inspired her to enter the political area.
“When the odds were stacked against me 100 to one, Paul encouraged, stood by and supported me,” she said at a 2016 Capitol Hill event. “Still, the best piece of advice I have received is from Speaker Ryan, who told me: ‘You have two ears and one mouth, use them in that ratio.’ “
After her win, Stefanik spoke proudly of being a role model for girls and women.
“Parents started bringing their elementary school-aged daughters to events, these were nonpolitical families — Republicans, Democrats, unaffiliated voters — just to show their daughters an example and a role model of what they can achieve,” she told CSPAN at the time.
“I’m a Republican because I believe in limited government,” she added. “I think Republican principles help the vast majority of all Americans achieve the American dream and I believe in the Constitution.”
Cheney, a staunch conservative and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has reportedly been telling her supporters behind the scenes that she will continue to call out Trump and the Republican Party for pushing the “Big Lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by Joe Biden. She is up for reelection next year.
“We must be brave enough to defend the basic principles that underpin and protect our freedom and our democratic process. I am committed to doing that, no matter what the short-term political consequences might be,” Cheney wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post.
Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the deadly Capitol riots in January.
As theGrio previously reported, top House Republican Kevin McCarthy on Sunday publicly endorsed Rep.Stefanik for the post of No. 3 leader. House Republicans could vote as early as Wednesday to remove Cheney, the highest-ranking woman in the Republican Party, 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 for the job of Republican Conference chair, McCarthy responded: “Yes, I do.”
Read More: Trump spokesperson says defeating Rep. Cheney is ‘high priority’
“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.
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