Cheney’s spat with GOP intensifies
Top-ranking woman is assailed by minority leader
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy stepped up pressure on No. 3 House Republican Liz Cheney on Tuesday, claiming concerns about “her ability to carry out her job” as she trades insults with former President Donald Trump.
McCarthy’s comments underscored the continued, if not growing, grip the former president has on the House GOP. They also spotlighted an increasingly open split between McCarthy and Cheney.
Rather than standing by Cheney — as he did during a failed effort to oust her in February — McCarthy joined her pro-Trump critics. His positioning with her detractors and their increasingly outspoken attacks suggest her hold on her leadership job is in renewed peril.
“I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out … the message,” said McCarthy, R-Calif. “We all need to be working as one if we’re able to win the majority.”
McCarthy’s remarks come with Republicans optimistic about winning back control of the House in the 2022 elections. The GOP believes it has a trove of issues, including border security and relaxing pandemic restrictions, to use against Democrats and wants to focus there.
But, by next year’s elections, the GOP must resolve the power struggle between pro-Trump loyalists and those who believe he has damaged the party and country by repeatedly — and falsely — claiming that last November’s presidential election was stolen from him.
The fight between Cheney and her critics puts the GOP in the awkward position of seeking to oust its highest-ranking woman when the party is trying to erode Democrats’ decisive advantage among female voters.
Asked about McCarthy’s comments, Cheney spokesperson Jeremy Adler said in a written statement, “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.”
Further demonstrating the schism between the two GOP leaders, one top Republican congressional aide said McCarthy had weeks ago urged Cheney to stop talking about Trump, and her failure to do so has boosted frustration with her. McCarthy, who delivered a speech supporting her when House Republicans privately voted to keep her in February, will not do that this time, said the aide.
A vote on whether to remove Cheney could take place as early as next Wednesday, when House Republicans are next scheduled to meet.
Potential contenders to replace Cheney include Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York and Jackie Walorski of Indiana, the aide said.
McCarthy was interviewed a day after Trump mounted a fresh offensive on his assertions. Numerous state and federal courts, and local election officials have unearthed no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 voting,
Trump critics have labeled his claims “The Big Lie” and he issued a statement trying to claim that moniker.
“The Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020 will be, from this day forth, known as THE BIG LIE!” he wrote.
Cheney, R-Wyo., was among 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in encouraging the Jan. 6 attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol, and she used Twitter on Monday to respond to Trump.
“The 2020 presidential election was not stolen. Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system,” she wrote.