众议院共和党人正在推进他们的计划，将怀俄明州众议员利兹·切尼从共和党大会主席的职位上赶下来——众议院少数党领袖凯文·麦卡锡宣布将于周三举行罢免投票——这表明了前总统的严密控制唐纳德·特朗普在总统选举后的六个月里继续控制着共和党选举特朗普继续谎称被盗。
切尼拒绝在她所说的“大谎言”上支持特朗普和其他共和党人，她投票弹劾前总统在1月6日国会大厦袭击中的作用，这使她成为党内的局外人，尽管这不是她今年第一次面临内部挑战，但这将是她第一次面临没有共和党领导层支持的挑战。
“如果我们要成功阻止激进的民主党议程摧毁我们的国家，这些内部冲突需要解决，以免分散我们集体团队的努力，”麦卡锡在周一给共和党同事的一封信中写道，该信由美国广播公司新闻获得。“最近几天听了很多人的发言，很明显，我们需要做出改变。”
麦卡锡在周末公开支持四个任期纽约众议员伊丽莎白·斯特凡尼克(Elise Stefanik)几乎可以肯定，切尼最早将于本周被解除职务。麦卡锡追随第二名众议院共和党众议员史蒂夫·斯卡利斯路易斯安那州支持斯特凡尼克。
切尼没有对麦卡锡做出回应，但至少有一名众议院共和党人与切尼和其他八名众议院共和党人一起投票弹劾特朗普，伊利诺伊州众议员亚当·金辛格(Adam Kinzinger)周一在众议院领导层之后表示，切尼被解职只有一个原因:因为她一贯传达信息，拒绝对真相撒谎。
“我认为归根结底，”他说告诉国家新闻俱乐部星期一说，“她被免职的原因是让事情变得不舒服和不变，上帝保佑她有说出真相的一致性。因为历史——我要告诉你，从长远来看——会把她写得很好。”
“她正因为一件事而被淘汰:她的一致性。她说的和凯文·麦卡锡1月6日说的一模一样，唐纳德·特朗普应该对此负责，”金辛格补充说。
除了形容麦卡锡虚伪之外，金辛格说，在1月6日之前的几天里，他驳斥了自己对暴力的警告。
金辛格说:“当我的政党领导人——特别是凯文·麦卡锡和史蒂夫·斯卡利斯——决定赢得下次选举或赢得多数席位比清醒地认识1月6日发生的事情更重要时，我感到非常失望。”。" 1月6日发生的事情是一个导致暴力的谎言。"
1月6日前几天，我们的共和党成员开了个电话会议。我告诉凯文，他的话和我们党的行动会导致1月6日的暴力。凯文不屑地回答道:“好的，亚当，接线员，下一个问题。”我们有暴力。
—亚当·金辛格(@阿达姆金辛格)2021年5月10日
Stefanik取代切尼的领先者是147名投票推翻选举结果的共和党人之一，他在国会大厦袭击后的一次发言中为质疑结果进行了辩护，并表示完全支持有争议的共和党支持的亚利桑那州选举结果审计，选举专家担心这将进一步削弱对选举进程的信心。
在福克斯新闻上问道”周日早间期货“不管他是否支持斯特凡尼克担任众议院共和党第三号人物，麦卡锡说，“是的，我支持”，并指出他所说的共和党信息应该是什么。
麦卡锡说:“任何成员都可以采取他们相信的任何立场。”她否认切尼的下台是基于她对特朗普的批评。“我们正在谈论的，是一个领导职位。我们正在为这个国家和这个世纪是否属于我们的方向进行一场最大的战斗。作为会议主席，你有信使最关键的工作要做。”
一会儿Stefanik她比切尼小近20岁，投票记录比切尼更温和——切尼曾避免提及特朗普的名字，但成为他最坚定的支持者之一——她的盟友希望迅速投票将她纳入领导团队，但投票不太可能在周三进行。这可能发生在本周晚些时候，在斯特凡尼克正式向同事推销后——可能是在一次单独的闭门会议上。
随着众议院共和党人处理关于潜在下台的内部戏剧，白宫周一表示，这不会影响关于乔·拜登总统议程的谈判。
“总统知道共和党现在正在进行一些反思，并决定他们将成为谁，他们想领导谁，他们想代表什么前进。白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基(Jen Psaki)表示:“他不会专注于此。”他否认这种情况会影响拜登周三与麦卡锡和国会领导人的首次面对面会谈。
在周末支持斯特凡尼克之前，麦卡锡上周无意中说他对切尼“失去信心”。这对夫妇分享了一个尴尬时刻当他们不同意回答记者关于特朗普是否应该在CPAC保守党政治行动会议上发言的问题时。
应该前任主席。特朗普在CPAC演讲?少数党领袖凯文·麦卡锡:“是的，他应该。”共和党会议主席利兹·切尼:“这取决于CPAC...在1月6日之后，我不认为他应该在党或国家的未来发挥作用。”pic.twitter.com/SdT9u2IniE
——美国广播公司新闻政治(@美国广播公司政治)2021年2月24日
特朗普上周也发表了看法来自马拉加包括麦卡锡在内，自特朗普离任以来，曾经的“冬季白宫”仍有共和党知名人士访问。麦卡锡在一份声明中批评切尼是“好战的傻瓜，与共和党领导层无关”，并支持斯特凡尼克是“一个非常优越的选择”。
斯特凡尼克，在最近的采访前特朗普顾问塞巴斯蒂安·戈尔卡(Sebastian Gorka)也对切尼进行了抨击，称众议院会议主席的工作“不是攻击会议成员和特朗普总统”。
切尼需要简单多数才能保住她的职位。今年2月，在类似的情况迫使投票后，共和党以145票对61票保留了她梦寐以求的角色。目前有212名共和党人在众议院任职，她的批评者还需要大约45票才能罢免她。
现在，尽管切尼没有在下一个迫在眉睫的挑战中退缩，但她也没有公开反对这一举措。她将自己标榜为“毫无歉意的保守派”，并继续警告说，如果共和党继续推行特朗普的大谎言，将会产生后果。
上周三晚些时候，她发表了一份意见块《华盛顿邮报》报道了她的情况，写道，“共和党正处于一个转折点，共和党人必须决定我们是否要选择真理和忠于宪法。”
“历史在看。我们的孩子在看。我们必须勇敢地捍卫支撑和保护我们自由和民主进程的基本原则。无论短期的政治后果如何，我都致力于这样做，”她说。
Kinzinger calls out GOP leadership for backing election 'lie' over Cheney
House Republicans are forging ahead with their plan to oust Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from her post as GOP Conference Chair -- with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announcing a recall vote will be held on Wednesday -- illustrating the tight grip former PresidentDonald Trumpcontinues to hold over the Republican Party six months after the presidentialelectionTrump continues to falsely claim was stolen.
Cheney's refusal to side with Trump and other Republicans on what she's called "the big lie" and her vote to impeach the former president for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack has made her an outlier in her party, and while it's not the first time this year she's faced an internal challenge, it will be the first time she's facing one without the support of Republican leadership.
"If we are to succeed in stopping the radical Democrat agenda from destroying our country, these internal conflicts need to be resolved so as to not detract from the efforts of our collective team," McCarthy wrote in a letter to GOP colleagues Monday obtained by ABC News. "Having heard from so many of you in recent days, it's clear that we need to make a change."
McCarthy over the weekend publicly endorsed four-termNew YorkRep. Elise Stefanik, making all but certain Cheney will be stripped of her role as soon as this week. McCarthy follows the No. 2 House Republican Rep.Steve Scaliseof Louisiana in voicing support for Stefanik.
Cheney has not responded to McCarthy, but least one House Republican who joined Cheney and eight other House Republicans in voting to impeach Trump, Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, went after House leadership on Monday and said Cheney is being run out of her post for only one reason: because she is consistent in her message and refuses to lie about the truth.
"I think when it comes down to it," hetoldthe National Press Club Monday, "what she is being removed for is making it uncomfortable and being consistent, and God bless her for having the consistency to tell the truth. Because history -- I'm going to tell you, in the longterm -- is going to write very well about her."
"She's being run out for one thing: her consistency. She said the same exact thing that Kevin McCarthy said on Jan. 6 which is Donald Trump is responsible," Kinzinger added.
In addition to describing McCarthy as hypocritical, Kinzinger said he dismissed his own warnings about violence in the days ahead of Jan. 6.
"I was very disappointed when my party's leaders -- Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise in particular -- decided that winning the next election or winning the majority was more important than a clear-eyed recognition of what happened on Jan. 6," Kinzinger said. "What happened on Jan. 6 is a lie led to violence."
A few days before Jan 6, our GOP members had a conference call. I told Kevin that his words and our party's actions would lead to violence on January 6th. Kevin dismissively responded with "ok Adam, operator next question." And we got violence.
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger)May 10, 2021
Stefanik, the frontrunner to replace Cheney, was among the 147 Republicans who voted to overturn election results and defended questioning results in a floor speech after the Capitol attack and has expressed full support for the controversial Republican-backed audit of election results in Arizona, which election experts have worried will further undermine confidence in the electoral process.
Asked on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" whether he supported Stefanik for the No. 3 House Republican position, McCarthy said, "Yes, I do," and pointed to what he said GOP messaging should be.
"Any member can take whatever position they believe in," McCarthy said, denying Cheney's ousting was based on her criticisms of Trump. "What we are talking about, it's a position in leadership. We are in one of our biggest battles ever for this nation and the direction of whether this century will be ours. As conference chair, you have the most critical jobs of the messenger going forward."
WhileStefanik, nearly 20 years her junior with a more moderate voting record than Cheney -- who once avoided saying Trump's name but became one of his staunchest supporters -- and her allies are hoping to a quick vote to add her to the leadership team, that vote is unlikely to happen on Wednesday. It could happen later this week, after Stefanik formally makes her pitch to colleagues -- potentially in a separate closed-door meeting.
As House Republicans dealt with internal drama over the potential ouster, the White House said Monday it wouldn't affect negotiations over President Joe Biden's agenda.
"The president knows that there is some introspection going on in the Republican Party right now, and a determination about who they're going to be, who they want to lead them, and what they want to represent moving forward. He's not going to focus on that," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki, denying that the situation would influence Biden's thinking as he heads into his first in-person meeting Wednesday with McCarthy and congressional leaders.
Ahead of his weekend endorsement of Stefanik, McCarthy last week was overheard saying he has "lost confidence" in Cheney. The pair shared anawkward momenton Capitol Hill in late February when they disagreed responding to a reporters' question over whether Trump should speak at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Should former Pres. Trump speak at CPAC?Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy: "Yes, he should."GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney: "That's up to CPAC...following January 6, I don't believe that he should be playing a role in the future of the party, or country."pic.twitter.com/SdT9u2IniE
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics)February 24, 2021
Trump also weighed in last weekfrom Mar-a-Lago-- the once "Winter White House" which has still seen prominent GOP figures visit since Trump left office, McCarthy included -- to criticize Cheney in a statement as a "warmongering fool who has no business in Republican Party Leadership" and endorse Stefanik as "a far superior choice."
Stefanik, in a recentinterviewwith former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka, took her own jab at Cheney, saying the House Conference Chair's job "is not to attack members of the conference and attack President Trump."
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Cheney will need a simple majority to keep her post. In February, Republicans voted 145-61 to keep her in the coveted role after similar circumstances forced a vote. With 212 Republicans currently serving in the House, her critics need about 45 more votes to remove her.
Now, although Cheney isn't backing down from the next imminent challenge, she is not openly fighting the move, either. Branding herself as an "unapologetic conservative," she has continued to warn there are consequences if the GOP continues to push Trump's big lie.
Late last Wednesday, she published an opinionpiecein The Washington Post laying out her case, writing, "The Republican Party is at a turning point, and Republicans must decide whether we are going to choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution."
"History is watching. Our children are watching. 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," she said.
