华盛顿——众议院共和党领袖凯文·麦卡锡周日公开支持众议员埃利斯·斯特凡尼克担任第三号人物，巩固了该党对第三号人物的支持唐纳德·特朗普对众议员利兹·切尼的忠诚者，她直言不讳地批评前总统宣扬2020年选举被偷了。
众议院共和党人最早可能在周三投票罢免切尼，她是共和党领导层中级别最高的女性，也是前副总统迪克·切尼的女儿，并由斯特凡尼克取代她，斯特凡尼克的升迁得到了特朗普的支持。
在福克斯新闻频道“周日早间期货”的采访中，当被问及他是否支持纽约斯特凡尼克担任共和党大会主席时，麦卡锡回答说:“是的，我支持。”
“我们希望在前进的道路上团结一致，我认为这就是将要发生的，”他在回答关于他是否有票推翻切尼的问题时说
麦卡锡说，领导职位必须专注于他所说的拜登政府的问题上的“日复一日”的信息。
切尼指责共和党人，包括加利福尼亚州的麦卡锡，称那些纵容特朗普谎称总统选举被盗的人“散布弥天大谎，背弃法治，毒害我们的民主制度。”周三在《华盛顿邮报》的一篇评论文章中，她谴责了“危险的反民主的特朗普个人崇拜”，并警告她的共和党同僚不要“出于筹款和政治目的”接受或忽视他的声明。
她还表示，麦卡锡在最初表示特朗普对1月6日国会大厦的袭击“负有责任”后，“改变了他的故事”。麦卡锡最初批评了特朗普的行为，并在起义期间的私人电话中敦促当时的总统赶走暴徒。这位共和党领导人现在表示，他不相信特朗普挑起了骚乱。
麦卡锡周日否认共和党人罢免切尼的努力是基于她对特朗普的看法，也否认她是10名众议院共和党人之一，将在1月6日的骚乱中投票弹劾特朗普。他说，她分散了共和党人在2022年夺回众议院的注意力，并成功反对乔·拜登总统的议程，麦卡锡认为这些目标需要特朗普的支持。
麦卡锡上周抱怨说，根据他在“福克斯和朋友”节目中的交流录音，他对切尼“失去了信心”，并对她继续说特朗普的话“忍无可忍”。
切尼在众议院的投票记录实际上比斯特凡尼克更保守，斯特凡尼克曾是特朗普的批评者，后来演变成了他的热情盟友。她此前反对特朗普的减税计划。
共和党众议员亚当·金辛格(Adam Kinzinger)说:“党内现在有一场真正的战斗，让我们把分歧放在一边，团结起来的想法。”，谁也投票弹劾特朗普。他在哥伦比亚广播公司的“面对国家”节目中说:“他们要除掉莉兹·切尼，因为他们宁愿假装阴谋是真的，也不愿面对它，也不愿实际面对它，也许不得不暂时努力拯救这个政党，从长远来看，拯救这个国家。”
众议院第二大共和党领袖众议员史蒂夫·斯卡利斯路易斯安那州的州长已经宣布支持斯特凡尼克。
House GOP leader says he backs ousting Cheney from No. 3 job
WASHINGTON -- Top House Republican Kevin McCarthy on Sunday publicly endorsed Rep. Elise Stefanik for the post of No. 3 leader, cementing party support of theDonald Trumployalist over Rep. Liz Cheney, an outspoken critic of the former president for promoting discredited claims that the 2020electionwas stolen.
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.
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.”
Cheney actually has a more conservative voting record in the House than Stefanik, a onetime Trump critic who evolved into an ardent ally. She previously opposed Trump's tax cuts.
“You have this real battle right now in the party, this idea of let’s just put our differences aside and be unified,” said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who also voted to impeach Trump. “They’re going to get rid of Liz Cheney because they’d much rather pretend that the conspiracy is either real or not confront it than to actually confront it and maybe have to take the temporary licks to save this party and in the long term this country," he said on CBS' “Face the Nation.”
The second-ranking House Republican leader, Rep.Steve Scaliseof Louisiana, already has announced his support for Stefanik.
