House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney held on to her leadership role after a contentious, four-hour “family meeting” among GOP lawmakers on the party’s direction in the post-Trump era.
Republicans held a vote after hours of discussion and voted to keep Cheney in her role. Some conservative Republicans who are Trump supporters had sought to oust the Wyoming Republican after she voted to impeach former President Donald Trump last month. The vote was 145-61 in Cheney’s favor.
Cheney refused to apologize for her vote, and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, also a Trump ally, argued on her behalf and told GOP lawmakers he supports her. It was a defining moment for Republicans, who are nervous that the party will be viewed as extreme if it pushes out Cheney, a bedrock conservative, over her impeachment vote.
Trump was charged with inciting an insurrection that led to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“It was a really good debate,” Rep. Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican, said.
Republicans hoped the meeting would serve to unify the conference after weeks of building tension over both Cheney and freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, who has, in the past, espoused many conspiracy theories, including one that mass shootings are staged to promote gun control.
Greene is slated to lose her two committee assignments Thursday, when Democrats bring up an unprecedented vote to kick her off the panels.
McCarthy refused to do it himself, prompting Democrats to make the move.
They rejected McCarthy’s offer to take her off the education committee and allow her to remain on the budget panel.
Greene received a standing ovation in the GOP meeting from dozens of lawmakers.
McCarthy met with Greene privately earlier Wednesday to condemn her past statements, among them a belief in the QAnon conspiracy theory. McCarthy said he believes Greene understands members of Congress must hold themselves to a higher standard.
“Marjorie recognized this in our conversation,” McCarthy said. “I hold her to her word, as well as her actions going forward.”
Greene retracted her prior statements in front of the entire conference, lawmakers said.
“It’s important that she has completely rejected what she has said beforehand and made it clear that she thought some of that was inappropriate,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a New Jersey Republican, said.
“She was contrite,” said Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican. “And I think she brought a lot of people over to her side.”
Cheney, after the vote, called for unity among House Republicans.
“We really did have a terrific vote tonight and a terrific time this evening laying out what we’re going to do going forward, as well as making clear that we’re not going to be divided,” Cheney said. “And that we’re not going to be in a situation where people can pick off any member of leadership. It was a very resounding acknowledgment that we need to go forward together and that we need to go forward in a way that helps us beat back the really dangerous and negative Democrat policies.”
