Cheney regrets voting for Trump in 2020 after being stripped of Republican leadership
- US Republicans voted to replace her as their new House conference chair with Elise Stefanik, a vocal support of the former president
- Cheney, whose father was vice-president under George W. Bush, has repeatedly criticised Trump’s lies about election fraud
.png?itok=arIb17P0)
“I think that there are some very big issues that we need to grapple with as a party,” she told CNN. “We need to be in a position where we can get back voters who left us in 2020, where we can convey to people how important it is to come together around a set of principles that we know are the right ones for the country.”
“Congratulations to Elise Stefanik for her Big and Overwhelming victory!” Trump wrote in a statement. “The House GOP is united and the Make America Great Again movement is Strong!”
Cheney said she thought it was “dangerous” to elevate Stefanik, who voted against certifying some Electoral College results, to a leadership position. She also called for House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to testify before a bipartisan commission set to investigate the events surrounding the January 6 assault on the Capitol by a mob of Trump’s supporters.
Cheney said she “wouldn’t be surprised” if McCarthy were subpoenaed to testify before the panel.
McCarthy said after that attack that Trump “bears responsibility” for it. But he soon was expressing renewed allegiance to the former president and at the end of January visited him at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Stefanik, a 36-year-old former moderate representing upstate New York, easily overcame a late entrant to the race and won strong support from the Republican conference in a closed-door vote of 134 to 46.
“My focus is on unity, because that’s what the American people and that’s what our voters deserve,” she told reporters after vaulting into the number three House Republican position – becoming the party’s most powerful woman in Congress.
“We are going on offence and are going to win back the majority in 2022” in the House of Representatives, said Stefanik, the party’s new top messenger.
She also made clear that Trump and Trumpism will remain vital in the effort to turn back the “radical, far-left socialist agenda” of Biden and his Democrats.
“I support president Trump, voters support president Trump,” Stefanik said. “He is an important voice in our Republican Party and we look forward to working with him.”
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
