A few Republican House members dissatisfied with Rep. Elise Stefanik’s voting record are eyeing a different potential candidate to replace Rep. Liz Cheney in the caucus’s leadership.
Rep. Mike Johnson is reportedly a favorite among some lawmakers who are hoping to replace Cheney with a more conservative alternative than Stefanik, who hails from New York. Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, is favored by Reps. Bob Good and Madison Cawthorn, and several other Republicans would support him should he vie for the position, a source on Capitol Hill told the Washington Examiner.
“I would proudly support Mike Johnson in the race for conference chair if he decides to run,” Cawthorn, a representative from North Carolina, told the Washington Examiner. “He is a powerful conservative mind who is a happy warrior and the leader we need.”
DESPITE SOME GOP OPPOSITION, MCCARTHY PLANS FRIDAY VOTE TO REPLACE CHENEY WITH STEFANIK
Good, a Republican from Virginia, called Johnson “a very capable, competent, conservative vice chair.”
“Let’s let him assume the chair, at least temporarily. I think he’d be an outstanding candidate more long-term,” he told the Washington Examiner after the vote to remove Cheney on Wednesday. “There’s no reason to rush into this to fill the position, especially with someone who doesn’t reflect the conservative majority views of the conference.”
Rep. Louie Gohmert spoke highly of Johnson, telling the Washington Examiner he has been “overlooked,” adding that “he should have been the one presiding today on that vote.” The Texas Republican did not offer a statement endorsing Johnson should he enter the leadership race.
Without endorsing Johnson specifically, Rep. Chip Roy accused House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who scheduled a Friday vote to elect Stefanik to the role, of rushing the process to fill Cheney’s vacated position.
“With all due respect to my friend, Elise Stefanik, let us contemplate the message Republican leadership is about to send by rushing to coronate a spokesperson whose voting record embodies much of what led to the 2018 a—kicking we received by Democrats,” the Texas Republican wrote in a Tuesday letter to colleagues obtained by the Washington Examiner.
Roy has not outright dismissed the possibility he himself would enter the race.
“I will say this. She should have an opponent,” he told the Washington Examiner when asked whether he would challenge Stefanik.
Despite aligning herself closely with former President Donald Trump, who endorsed her to become Cheney’s successor, Stefanik is facing opposition from colleagues for her comparatively liberal voting record, particularly her vote against the party’s signature tax cut legislation.
Stefanik has earned support from several other high-profile Republicans, including McCarthy and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who said she “is strongly committed” to regaining a majority in the House in 2022, Lauren Fine, Scalise’s spokeswoman, told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday. More conservative members have also endorsed Stefanik, with Rep. Jim Jordan, a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, also backing the New York Republican.
Cheney was ousted as the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference on Wednesday as she faces increasing blowback from her caucus for her frequent comments against Trump. But she has received support from some corners within the GOP. Sen. Mitt Romney, former Sen. Jeff Flake, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger were among those who criticized her removal, arguing she was being penalized for speaking the truth about the former president. The Wyoming at-large representative even received a standing ovation following the vote to strip her of her leadership position, though Rep. Ken Buck noted that appeared to be more a sign of “respect for her service” rather than support for her anti-Trump position.
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was 1 of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on the charge of incitement of insurrection in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, although the Senate later acquitted him. Trump was previously impeached in the House on two Ukraine-related charges in 2019 before being acquitted in the Senate.
The two have repeatedly clashed ever since, with Cheney saying Trump was no longer the leader of the GOP and refusing to back a potential 2024 presidential bid and Trump vowing to endorse a primary challenger ahead of her 2022 reelection campaign.
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Despite objections from Flake, Romney, and others, most Republicans applauded Cheney’s ouster, saying she no longer represented the position held by the majority of the GOP.
A representative for Johnson did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
