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Mitch mcconnell
Photographer: Sarah Silbiger / Bloomberg
Photographer: Sarah Silbiger / Bloomberg
GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell took the rare step of weighing in on an internal conflict between House Republicans, praising Representative Liz Cheney for her “deep beliefs” and “courage” as she faces the attacks from former President Donald Trump’s allies.
Cheney, the third House GOP leader, has been criticized for her vote to impeach the former president as well as for her harsh criticism of her words and actions.
“Liz Cheney is a leader with deep convictions and the courage to act on it,” McConnell said in a statement. “She is an important leader of our party and our nation. I am grateful to her for her service and look forward to continuing to work with her on the critical issues facing our nation.
McConnell’s support for Cheney is a clear sign of the struggle within the Republican Party over influence Trump will continue to wield even after losing the White House to Democrat Joe Biden and the GOP losing control of the Senate. . Trump’s actions to stoke the crowd that stormed the Capitol last month, for which he was impeached by US House for an unprecedented second time, have divided Republicans in a way that few political battles the last four years have done.
Read more: House Democrats must punish Conspiracist Greene if GOP won’t
It comes ahead of a meeting scheduled for Wednesday of House Republicans called by their leader, Kevin McCarthy. Several lawmakers and aides have said Cheney’s role as Republican conference chairman is sure to come through.
Some members, including Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, have called for Cheney to be removed from his leadership position. Last week, Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, who has closely aligned with Trump, visited home state of Cheney, Wyoming, for a rally denouncing her. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., called the event in Cheyenne by phone.
But it’s not clear that enough Republicans would vote to oust Cheney.
McCarthy said that while he still supported her, she had to respond to the conference. Any vote to withdraw it would be private, and no one on either side of the dispute would know who did what.
‘Never been a greater betrayal’
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was the highest ranking Republican to call for Trump’s impeachment, saying there has “never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.
Photographer: Al Drago / Bloomberg
Cheney voted against Trump’s impeachment at the end of 2019, but had further public breaks with the now-former president and his Republican supporters in the House ahead of last month’s impeachment vote. These included disagreements over foreign policy, how Trump handled the coronavirus pandemic and his support for a main challenger to Republican Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky.
Cheney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on McConnell’s remarks.
Some of the other nine House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump have also come under pressure from inside the party and from GOP officials in their home states. They, as well as Cheney, could face major challenges.
McConnell also issued a statement on another issue facing McCarthy and House Republicans: the provocative positions taken by Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. House Democrats are threatening to force a vote to strip Greene of her committee duties if Republicans don’t discipline her.
Although he did not name her specifically, McConnell said, “Lies and conspiracy theories are cancerous to the Republican Party and our country.”
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