Republicans Just Elected a Replacement for Liz Cheney
House Republicans on Friday elected Rep. Elise Stefanik to replace Rep. Liz Cheney as conference chair after Cheney was ousted from her leadership position Wednesday.
The New York Republican won the chair of the House Republican Conference 134 to 46 votes in a secret ballot, NBC News reported.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Stefanik’s candidacy earlier this month.
“We want leaders who believe in the Make America Great Again movement, and prioritize the values of America First,” Trump said in a statement.
“Elise Stefanik is a far superior choice, and she has my COMPLETE and TOTAL Endorsement for GOP Conference Chair. Elise is a tough and smart communicator!”
Stefanik thanked Trump for his support during a brief news conference following the vote.
“He is a critical part of our Republican team,” she said.
“The American people are suffering under the far-left radical socialist policies of President Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In just over 100 days, we have an economic crisis, we have a border crisis and we have a national security crisis.”
She added that House Republicans are looking forward to working with Trump.
“I believe that voters determine the leader of the Republican Party and President Trump is the leader that they look to,” she said.
“I support President Trump, voters support President Trump, he is an important voice in our Republican Party and we look forward to working with him.”
Stefanik was also endorsed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise.
Rep. Chip Roy challenged Stefanik for the position and argued she was not conservative enough.
“Therefore, with all due respect to my friend, Elise Stefanik, let us contemplate the message Republican leadership is about to send by rushing to coronate a spokesperson whose voting record embodies much of what led to the 2018 a**-kicking we received by Democrats,” he wrote in a memo.
Cheney was removed via a voice vote Wednesday after she condemned Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, Axios reported.
“We cannot let the former president drag us backward and make us complicit in his efforts to unravel our democracy,” Cheney said at the start of Wednesday’s conference meeting.
Cheney was also one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in January on charges of inciting the Jan. 6 incursion of the Capitol.
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