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The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board waded into the debate over Rep. Liz Cheney
“This should be a hopeful moment for House Republicans. While they’re playing defense in the minority for now, their prospects for picking up the five net seats they need to regain the majority in 2022 are excellent. That is, unless they devolve into internal brawling over the 2020 election,” the Journal’s editorial board wrote Tuesday.
“Yet that’s precisely what they seem to be doing as some Members try to oust Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from the GOP House leadership,” the editorial board argued.
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Top allies of McCarthy have already vowed to remove Cheney from the top leadership spot, arguing that the No. 3 Republican has repeatedly undermined GOP messaging and efforts to take back control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections.
“There is no way that Liz will be conference chair by month’s end,” one key McCarthy ally told The Hill on Monday.
“When there is a vote, it won’t be a long conference; it will be fast. Everyone knows the outcome,” the ally said.
A hot mic incident reported by Axios Tuesday signaled the House GOP leader’s growing frustration with Cheney.
One Republican source, who frequently talks to McCarthy, said the GOP leader probably would favor Stefanik, who is close to McCarthy and who was one of Trump’s chief defenders during his first impeachment proceedings in 2019. The source said Walorski, a five-term lawmaker whom McCarthy tapped to lead Republicans on the House Ethics Committee, also would be acceptable.
“It will be Elise or Jackie, one plugged-in, senior House Republican told The Hill, citing the need to have a woman at the leadership table.
Aside from Cheney, McCarthy’s leadership team is almost entirely comprised of white men. Dumping Cheney has created a potentially embarrassing situation for Republican leaders who are both touting the diversity of their 2020 freshman class and hoping to broaden their tent again in the 2022 midterms, when they see a good shot at winning back the House.