The White House is trying, kind of, to hide its glee one day before House Republicans vote on a motion to oust Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from her leadership post after she has repeatedly criticized former President Donald Trump and called for his banishment from the party.
President Joe Biden and his administration are not dwelling on Wednesday’s vote or the impact the intraparty conflict may have on the Democratic agenda, according to press secretary Jen Psaki.
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“We will leave that to them to work out among themselves,” she told reporters Tuesday, with a noticeable grin. “At no point is our effort to fight for bipartisanship about being an arbiter or mediator between intraparty fighting in the Republican Party.”
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New York Rep. Elise Stefanik is anticipated to succeed Cheney, the daughter of former GOP Vice President Dick Cheney, as House Republican conference chairwoman, the caucus’s No. 3 position.
Cheney, tasked with coordinating House Republican messaging and policy, has come under fire from her colleagues for criticizing Trump over his claims he won the 2020 election and his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Stefanik has a less conservative voting record than Cheney but is a staunch Trump ally.
Psaki on Tuesday downplayed the importance of Republican “squabbling,” dismissing any notion Democrats see the vote as a symbol of the opposition party’s future in a post-Trump political environment. Democrats are already using the vote to tie vulnerable GOP lawmakers in swing districts to the divisive Trump.
Biden is hosting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on Wednesday after the vote in his first bipartisan, bicameral meeting with all four congressional leaders. Biden’s $2.25 trillion infrastructure-plus proposal will likely be their focus, particularly whether there is any room for compromise.
“That’s an example of how he feels he can represent the American people, pursue an agenda that would help benefit people, whether they voted for him or not,” Psaki said. “We’re going to have a discussion about how we can work together.”
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Biden predicted during the campaign that Republicans would have an “epiphany” after Trump. Last week, he admitted he did not “understand” the party as it moved toward ousting Cheney from leadership.
