Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-CA)
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced in a letter to his Republican colleagues on Monday, May 10, that he will schedule a vote on Wednesday, May 12, to decide whether to remove Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, from office. Prior to that, McCarthy and several Republican caucus figures unanimously supported the removal of Cheney, a move that could lead to Cheney’s ouster.
The widely watched vote will be held behind closed doors and by secret ballot, and for the past two weeks, the Republican caucus supporting former President Trump has been calling for Cheney’s removal. Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and a senior figure in the party’s House of Representatives, voted in January to impeach Trump (R-Texas) and has repeatedly criticized Trump’s comments about the 2020 election being stolen, prompting plenty of party condemnation.
In a letter to House Republican colleagues on Monday, McCarthy said, “Having received many letters from people in recent days, it is clear that we need to make changes. Therefore, you should expect a vote to remove the conference chairman this Wednesday.”
“This is not the time to take our attention away from the focus. If we are to succeed in stopping the radical Democratic agenda from destroying our country, these internal conflicts need to be resolved so as not to undermine the efforts of our collective team,” he asserted.
McCarthy previously announced his support for Cheney’s impeachment and accused her comments of constituting a divide within the party. He argued that removing Cheney as chairman of the House Republican Conference, the No. 3 Republican leadership position in the House, was necessary to unite Republicans for the purpose of the 2022 congressional elections and reclaiming Republican control of the House.
“I have always hoped that our focus would be on taking back the House in 2022 and implementing our promise to America. Despite the mainstream media working overtime against us, I believe we still have a good chance of doing that. Unfortunately, every day we spend re-discussing the past is one less day we have to seize the future,” McCarthy said.
All members, he said, “were chosen by their constituents on their behalf as they saw fit.” “But our leadership team cannot be divided from the important work of our campaign and the common goals we hope to achieve. The stakes are too high for mistakes to be made. I’m sure you agree with that.”
Most Republican lawmakers, including McCarthy, want to stand with Trump. And Trump’s claim is that he lost the November election because of widespread fraud. Some Republicans see the move to remove Cheney from his post as the latest sign that Trump is still at the heart of the Republican Party.
Trump, McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve-Scalise have endorsed Rep. Elise-Stefanik to replace Cheney as conference chair once Cheney is successfully removed.
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