In the meeting in which House Republicans voted to remove Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from her No. 3 position as conference chairwoman on Wednesday, her colleagues gave her a strange gesture of respect.
“She got a standing ovation when she walked off the stage,” Republican Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado said after the vote.
Before a voice vote to remove her from the position, both Cheney and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke to the House Republican Conference. Buck said another member requested a standing ovation for Cheney but would not say who and that “more than half” of the members stood up for her.
“It seemed to me that people wanted to show respect for her service, not necessarily for her position,” Buck said.
DEFIANT CHENEY VOWS TO BLOCK TRUMP RETURN TO WHITE HOUSE
He did not see the move as hypocritical, though, saying, “It wasn’t a standing ovation [for] her disagreeing with the Trump narrative. It wasn’t a standing ovation for disagreeing with members in the conference. It was a standing ovation for her willingness to serve as conference chair.”
After the voice vote, one member made a parliamentary inquiry to make a recorded vote. That was ruled out of order, with the reasoning being that the time had elapsed to ask for a recorded vote.
The meeting took less than 15 minutes, with members ready to move on and adjourn quickly.
Buck, who worked for Cheney’s father, then-Rep. Dick Cheney, in the 1980s on the Iran-Contra investigation, opposed Cheney’s removal from her leadership position.
“Liz Cheney was canceled today for speaking her mind and disagreeing with the narrative that President Trump has put forth,” he said.
Buck opposes making New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the only candidate running to replace Cheney, conference chairwoman.
“I think she’s a liberal,” he said.
Stefanik told reporters on Tuesday that she has “a great deal of support from the Freedom Caucus and others.”
Buck, a member of the right-wing Freedom Caucus, said he does not think that is accurate: “She is trying to demonstrate her communication skills if she is saying something like that.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Stefanik will speak to the Freedom Caucus Wednesday evening. Members opposed to her taking the leadership role do not expect another strong alternative to emerge. Stefanik has the support of McCarthy of California and Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, among other House Republicans.
“You have President Trump’s support. You have Kevin McCarthy’s support. You have Steve Scalise’s support. I don’t think there would be anybody that wants to risk a future chairmanship or a future role in the party to take on Elise Stefanik,” Buck said.
