New York Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, an ardent Trump supporter, is lobbying her fellow Republican House members to elect her to replace Wyoming Republican Liz Cheney as House Republican Conference Chair, the third-highest party position in the House.
According to CNN, Stefanik has been calling influential House Republicans to garner their support for her elevation to the position, which may become open if the caucus votes to out Cheney, a vote which could come as early as May 12th.
Cheney has become the target of GOP infighting after she supported the second impeachment of Donald Trump for his incitement of a domestic terrorist attack at the Capitol. Cheney was one of ten Republicans in the House to vote to impeach Trump, and she is now a hated opponent within her Party from Trump and his most feverish supporters.
Cheney is also one of the most vocal Republicans acknowledging Trump’s loss in the November 2020 election, refusing to join “The Big Lie” that a complicated cabal of voting machine manufacturers, local election boards and state officials all conspired with the media and Democrats to steal the election from Trump.
Stefanik, on the other hand, voted against impeaching Trump in both impeachments. She also signed on to a lawsuit brought before the Supreme Court by the state of Texas to overthrow the election results in swing states that President Joe Biden won. The Supreme Court rejected the case.
The argument over Cheney exemplifies a larger battle within the GOP among those who support the traditional platforms of the mainstream conservative path for the Party versus those who support Trumpism over conservatism.