House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney refused to apologize for voting to impeach former President Donald Trump. Embattled freshman and staunch Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene got a standing ovation from some GOP lawmakers for battling Democratic efforts to strip the Republican Georgia congresswoman from two committees.
It all happened in a closed-door House GOP “family meeting” meant to air interparty differences that threaten to fracture the party as it navigates a post-Trump era.
“It’s been a good discussion on both sides of both of the particular individuals,” Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, said during a break in the talks. “It really has been.”
But inside the room, lawmakers on two sides were eager to vent their frustrations at the direction of the party as it moves beyond the Trump era.
A group of conservative Republicans was looking to oust Cheney as conference chairwoman over her vote to impeach Trump, who was charged with inciting an insurrection that led to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Greene, meanwhile, told the GOP that her prior embrace of conspiracy theories such as QAnon and the belief that school shootings were “false flags” or staged events do not accurately represent her views now.
She told lawmakers who said they feared the party will be linked to her theories to direct questions her way, so she can answer for them.
Some Republicans stood and applauded Greene, who is poised to be stripped of committee assignments by Democrats in an unprecedented floor vote Thursday.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, told the conference he backs Cheney and wants the conference to stay united against Democrats, rather than against each other.
“The leader reduced the temperature very effectively in his opening remarks,” Issa said.
Minority Whip Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, played down the conflict but said many members are eager to speak at the meeting, which is generally a sign of discontent.
“This has been a really good, healthy discussion,” Scalise said.
Lawmakers want the meeting to help the party overcome the conflict, possibly with a vote on whether to keep Cheney as conference chairwoman or replace her with another lawmaker.
Democrats are moving to identify the GOP with Greene, whose fringe views have been denounced by Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
On Wednesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, identified McCarthy as “Q-CA” — a reference to Greene’s onetime belief in the QAnon conspiracy theory and McCarthy’s refusal to force Greene off of the two committees.
McCarthy and other House Republicans point out Democrats have ignored incendiary comments made by House Democrats.
Democrats refused an offer by McCarthy to take away Greene’s seat on the education panel but allow her to remain on the budget committee.
