Former President Donald Trump is endorsing Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) in a potential bid to replace Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and become the No. 3 Republican in the House.
In a statement on Wednesday, Trump said, “Liz Cheney is a warmongering fool who has no business in Republican Party Leadership. We want leaders who believe in the Make America Great Again movement, and prioritize the values of America First.”
He added, “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!”
Read the statement below:
Statement by Donald Trump on Elise Stefanik.https://t.co/lB4mgAWwJO pic.twitter.com/70UXfdxiTO
— MassRoundup (@massroundup) May 5, 2021
While Cheney has not been shy about her criticism of Trump, she largely voted in line with his positions while he was in office, according to FiveThirtyEight, which has compiled a list of how members of Congress vote.
According to the outlet, Cheney voted in line with Trump’s position 92.9% of the time. Meanwhile, Stefanik voted in line with Trump 77.7% of the time.
In the early years of Trump’s presidency, Stefanik was critical of Trump. However, she earned Trump’s favor in 2019 as she defended him during the impeachment proceedings in the House.
Trump shared a clip of Stefanik in a tweet questioning an impeachment witness and said, “A new Republican Star is born. Great going [Elise Stefanik]!”
Cheney — who is one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on the charge of inciting an insurrection — is now facing a challenge to her leadership role as her colleagues have apparently grown tired of her willingness to criticize Trump and refute his unfounded claims that the election was stolen.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Fox News, “I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair, to carry out the message.”
“We all need to be working as one if we’re able to win the majority. Remember, majorities are not given, they are earned. And that’s about the message about going forward,” he added.
A spokesman for Cheney told The Hill that the effort to push her out of leadership 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.”