House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and some of his allies are moving quickly to nudge GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney from her leadership post, publicly criticizing her and privately lining up a potential successor, Politico reports.
During a Tuesday interview on Fox News, McCarthy gave his strongest signal yet that he would support a new attempt to oust Cheney from the No. 3 spot in leadership, saying his members have voiced concerns about her “ability to carry out” her job duties.
Meanwhile, some of McCarthy’s allies have started pitching other Republicans on Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for the post, according to multiple GOP sources familiar with the conversations. Stefanik herself has begun building support for a potential bid if Cheney is booted.
McCarthy’s moves are a stark shift from his public silence earlier this year when House conservatives mounted a failed bid to dislodge Cheney from her role after she voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
Responding to McCarthy’s remarks, Cheney spokesperson Jeremy Adler released a statement later Tuesday morning framing the fight this way:
“This is about whether the Republican Party is going to perpetuate lies about the 2020 election and attempt to whitewash what happened on Jan 6. Liz will not do that. That is the issue.”
McCarthy was also caught trashing Cheney on a hot mic Tuesday, saying he’s “lost confidence” in his top deputy and that she has “real problems,” according to Axios.
While tension between the top House Republican leaders has been steadily escalating, the relationship between the conference’s No. 1 and No. 3 hit rock bottom after its annual policy retreat in Florida last week, an event designed to project a united front as Republicans look to take back the House. The conversation among senior Republicans now isn’t whether Cheney survives another vote on her future, but who will inevitably replace her.
A handful of names have been floated to succeed Cheney, but Stefanik — who propelled herself to GOP stardom during Trump’s first impeachment trial — has emerged as a clear frontrunner. Leadership allies are essentially trying to sell Republicans on a replacement plan: swap Cheney for Stefanik.
Stefanik, 36, is said to be interested in the job if Cheney gets the boot and has been calling her colleagues to talk about her interest in the job and garner support, though her supporters believe she’s wary of looking eager to knife Cheney.
Stefanik, who mulled a bid for New York governor this year, has a number of things going for her: She’s become a prolific and high-profile fundraiser, is considered an effective party messenger and launched a PAC dedicated to electing more Republican women. She’s also liked by the MAGA crowd, including Trump and McCarthy. But Stefanik’s PAC has required her to play in GOP primaries, which could be problematic if she winds up in leadership.
Some have also questioned her conservative credentials, noting that Stefanik was a former co-chair of the moderate Tuesday Group who boasts only a 48 percent lifetime score from the conservative group Heritage Action. By comparison, Cheney’s is 80 percent. Stefanik’s upstate New York district, however, has grown redder in recent years.
Republicans are well aware of the optics of booting the sole woman to serve in GOP leadership, with some stressing the importance of finding another woman to take Cheney’s place. Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana is another Republican whose name has been floated, but she is generally not viewed as strong of a contender as Stefanik.
The discussions about who will replace her indicate that a vote on Cheney’s future is unavoidable, barely three months after she cruised to victory after the first attempt to oust her from leadership by House conservatives.
House Republicans will huddle next Wednesday for their weekly conference meeting, where McCarthy can call for a vote on Cheney’s future. If the GOP conference does purge Cheney from their ranks, they’d have to hold another vote on her replacement.
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