Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy tries to kill off revenge plot against Liz Cheney for voting to impeach Donald Trump as party is torn apart over trial
Kevin McCarthy said Thursday that he would not support an effort from Republican lawmakers to push out Representative Liz Cheney from her leadership position in the House.
'Do you want Liz Cheney to remain as conference chair or no?' a reporter asked McCarthy during his weekly conference on Thursday.
The Minority leader simply shot back: 'Yes.'
Cheney, who represents Wyoming and serves as GOP conference chairwoman, is facing extraordinary clapback from her own party after she became the highest ranking Republican to vote for impeaching Donald Trump earlier this month.
But McCarthy says she should remain in her post.
Many of Trump's House allies are circulating a petition demanding a vote to call on Cheney to resign.
Cheney is also facing fallout in her home state, where Cheney already has her first primary challenger for the 2022 race.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Thursday that he does not want Liz Cheney removed from her post as GOP conference chairwoman
Cheney is facing fallout from her party after she became the highest-ranking Republican lawmaker to vote for impeaching Donald Trump last week. A petition within the GOP is circulating to call on her to step down
In her home state, Cheney is also facing backlash as Wyoming State Senator Anthony Bouchard announced Wednesday he will launch a primary run against Cheney in 2022
Wyoming State Senator Anthony Bouchard announced Wednesday – in the midst of Joe Biden's inauguration festivities – that he would challenge the representative as her third term comes to a close.
So far, 115 members signed the petition committing to back efforts to oust Cheney.
The effort is being led by House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs of Arizona and Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana.
If successful, the petition would force a special conference meeting for a debate and subsequent vote on a resolution formally calling on Cheney to resign from her role at the leadership table.
Cheney represents Wyoming, a state where Trump had some of his biggest victories in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. In the former, Trump earned 68.2 per cent of the vote to Hillary Clinton's 21.9 per cent – and in 2020 he won the state with 70.4 per cent to Biden's 26.7 per cent.
The state doesn't have much of an impact on federal elections, however, with only three Electoral College votes.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED 'YES' ON IMPEACHMENT
Liz Cheney - Wyoming. Republican royalty and House Number 3
'There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.'
Adam Kinzinger - Illinois. Outspoken Trump critic and Air Force veteran
'If these actions are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offense?'
John Katko - New York. Holds swing district and co-chairs moderate group
'To allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy.'
Fred Upton - Michigan. 14-term rep who co-chairs moderate group
'It is time to say: Enough is enough.'
Jaime Herrera Beutler - Washington
Five-term rep in deep blue state
'The President of the United States incited a riot. That riot led to five deaths.'
Dan Newhouse - Washington
One of only two GOP reps from state
'Turning a blind eye to this brutal assault on our Republican is not an option.'
Peter Meijer - Michigan
Holds Gerald Ford's seat
'There was no such courage from our President who betrayed and misled millions.'
Tom Rice - South Carolina
Voted to overturn election results
'I have backed this President through thick and thin for four years. This utter failure is inexcusable.'
Anthony Gonzalez - Ohio
'The President of the United States helped organize and incite a mob that attacked the United States Congress in an attempt to prevent us from completing our solemn duties.'
Former NFL starting wide receiver
David Valadao - California
'His inciting rhetoric was un-American, abhorrent, and absolutely an impeachable offense. It’s time to put country over politics.'
Reclaimed district from Dems in 2020
Wyoming is also so little populated that it only has one representative in the U.S. House for its at-large district – Cheney.
Last Wednesday, exactly one week after thousands of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol, Cheney was one of the 10 Republican representatives to vote in favor of the article of impeachment against Trump.
House Democrats brought the impeachment charge against Trump, claiming he 'incited the insurrection.'
The other nine Republican congressmen and women who voted to impeach Trump are Adam Kinzinger of Illinois; John Katko of New York; Fred Upton and Peter Meijer of Michigan; Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse, the only two GOP lawmakers representing Washington state; Tom Rice of South Carolina; Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio; and David Valadao of California.
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was the only one in GOP leadership to vote for impeachment.
The House is now preparing to deliver within the next few days the article of impeachment to the Senate, which in the latest election became split 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote.
It is not clear if the Senate has enough Republican defectors to vote for convicting Trump – and Democrats would need at least 17 to cross the line to be successful in their efforts.
Now Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, said just before losing his 'majority leader' title this week, that Trump did 'provoke' the crowd before they stormed the Capitol.
'The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people,' he said on the Senate floor Tuesday – the day before Trump departed the White House and Biden was sworn in.
'They tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government, which they did not like,' McConnell continued.
'But we pressed on. We stood together and said an angry mob would not get veto power over the rule of law in our nation.'
In his biggest denunciation yet of the former president, McConnell was essentially giving his caucus permission to vote in favor of conviction and showed his own disapproval of Trump's part in the January 6 chaos.
Democrats don't want Trump to be able to run for office in the future, which they claim is their main objective in continuing to pursue an impeachment conviction even after he left Washington.
They claim Trump is to blame for riling up a crowd of his supporters ahead of them descending on Capitol Hill and storming the Capitol building earlier this month. The attack left five dead, including a Capitol Police officer and a female pro-Trump protester who was shot in the chest.
The protests delayed Congress for six hours from certifying the electron for Joe Biden.