© (J. Scott Applewhite/AP-File)FILE - In this April 20, 2021, file photo Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the House Republican Conference chair, speaks with reporters following a GOP strategy session on Capitol Hill in Washington. Donald Trump and his supporters are intensifying efforts to shame members of the party who are seen as disloyal to the former president and his false claims that last year's election was stolen from him.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite,File)
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy rallied behind the idea earlier this year of a "very big tent" that could hold all Republicans regardless of their views. But just three months later, McCarthy and other top Republicans are now supporting efforts to try and oust Rep. Liz Cheney from leadership for a second time as she continues to vocally push back against former President Donald Trump.
Cheney, the House Republican Conference chairwoman responsible for championing the party's messaging, has forcefully condemned Trump's unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen as well as the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol to stop the certification of President Joe Biden's victory. The Wyoming Republican, who was once expected to ascend up the leadership chain, remains steadfast that she won't perpetuate lies from Trump - even at the cost of her job.
Her leadership fate appears all but certain as things have rapidly escalated against Cheney in recent days and Republicans coalesce around a likely replacement. In February, Cheney easily fended off efforts to remove her from leadership during a vote by secret ballot. At the time, McCarthy urged his conference to support her and declared that Republicans were united.
But with renewed frustration in the party, McCarthy claims that Republicans aren't fed up with Cheney because she voted to impeach Trump over "incitement of insurrection" and insists it's because she can no longer convey the party's message. McCarthy previously said Trump bears some responsibility for the Jan. 6 attack but has since defended his response to the riots.
While there's no formal vote set on whether to boot Cheney from the ranks of leadership, a front-runner has already emerged as a possible replacement. Rep. Elise Stefanik, one of the youngest members in the House, appears to have cleared the field and has already locked down key support, including from McCarthy, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Trump, which was first reported by Punchbowl News.
Stefanik, a four-term congresswoman from New York with a more moderate voting record, has become a steadfast ally of Trump. She made a name for herself as a fierce defender of the former president during his first impeachment in late 2019. Stefanik has also played a role in trying to grow the ranks of GOP women in the House, an effort that saw success in 2020.
Through his private office, Trump has relentlessly gone after "Warmonger Liz Cheney" and bashed her for her unwillingness to uphold a false narrative about the 2020 election. In a Wednesday statement, he publicly endorsed Stefanik to replace her.
"Liz Cheney is a warmongering fool who has no business in Republican Party Leadership," Trump said. "Elise Stefanik is a far superior choice, and she has my COMPLETE and TOTAL Endorsement for GOP Conference Chair. Elise is a tough and smart communicator!"
The likely leadership shake-up sends a clear signal about how Republicans view the future of the party - one that continues to embrace Trump. His ultra-loyal base is necessary for GOP electoral success, but the strategy also threatens support from more moderate voters trending away from them. But the party is taking the gamble that Trump's base will have a bigger payoff - especially since he won't be on the ballot in 2022 and won't be able to directly drive up turnout.
In the most recent episode of the House GOP public spat, McCarthy cast doubt on Cheney's ability to keep doing her job as conference chairwoman.
"There's no concern about how she voted on impeachment. That decision has been made. I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair, to carry out the message," McCarthy said in a Tuesday interview with "Fox and Friends."
He was also caught on hot mic making more blistering attacks against Cheney that he's "lost confidence" in her ability to lead, which was first reported by Axios.
But Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, refuses to change her rhetoric and has made it clear she won't lie about the 2020 election. She has gotten public support from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and even a fist bump from Biden when he entered the House chamber for his joint address to Congress last week. Even though she doesn't see eye to eye with Trump and some in her party, Cheney has still been a vocal critic of the Biden administration, including the decision to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan.
"The 2020 presidential election was not stolen," Cheney tweeted earlier this week. "Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system."
In recent weeks, the rift between McCarthy and Cheney had been growing more apparent.
McCarthy largely stopped appearing at House Republican press conferences where Cheney would answer questions frankly about the former president. And at the recent House GOP retreat in Florida, McCarthy wouldn't say whether he'd endorse Cheney, who faces primary opponents in her reelection bid, saying she hasn't asked for his support.
The two also publicly disagreed at the retreat when Cheney said the focus of an independent 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack should be narrowly focused on the incident - bucking McCarthy and other Republicans who want to expand the scope and also look into Black Lives Matter protests from last summer.
Democrats, who hold the narrowest House majority in decades, are relishing the divisions among their opponents and are already seeking to use them as a wedge ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Republicans have a good shot at taking back the majority next year since historical midterm trends on their side and they only need a few seats to reclaim control.
Democrats argue that McCarthy is instead siding with the far-right influences of the GOP as they seek to link Republicans to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has also caused friction within the party and was stripped of her committee assignments over past incendiary comments. Democrats contend this will bolster them in their fight to keep the majority.
"Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's house is on fire and he just turned over the keys to Marjorie Taylor Greene," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Helen Kalla said in a statement. "If the Big Lie is going to be McCarthy's midterm message, then every single vulnerable House Republican owns it."
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