Maryland’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan says the Republican Party is attacking itself over testing members’ loyalty to former President Donald Trump.
Hogan, a frequent Trump critic and potential 2024 presidential hopeful, defended Rep. Liz Cheney over House Republicans‘ impending vote to strip Cheney of her leadership position.
“It’s sort of a circular firing squad where we’re just attacking members of our own party instead of focusing on solving problems,” Hogan said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press.
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“It bothers me you have to swear fealty to the dear leader or you get kicked out of the party. It just doesn’t make any sense,” the governor added.
Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, survived a separate attempt to oust her as conference chairwoman earlier this year after her vote, but growing frustrations between the Wyoming Republican and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have put her back in hot water.
On Sunday, McCarthy dismissed the notion that Cheney’s distance from other members is due to her opposition to Trump.
“Any member can take whatever position they believe in,” McCarthy told Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo. “That’s what the voters vote on, the individuals, and they make that decision. What we’re talking about, it’s a position in leadership. We are in one of our biggest battles ever for this nation and the direction, whether this next century will be ours. As conference chair, you have one of the most critical jobs of the messenger of going forward.”
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McCarthy, however, has said he would support New York Rep. Elise Stefanik to replace Cheney. Stefanik, 36, is a Trump loyalist who garnered national attention during Trump’s first impeachment hearings over her vocal opposition.
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