House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Republicans they would meet on Friday to vote on a lawmaker to replace ousted Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney, who was pushed out in a voice vote on Wednesday.
But some Republicans want more time to come up with a more conservative candidate than New Yorker Elise Stefanik, who appears to be in the lead for the job.
A small group of GOP conservatives has publicly decried Stefanik’s candidacy, arguing she is too moderate to replace Cheney and does not represent the views of the mostly conservative conference.
Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina introduced the resolution Wednesday in a closed-door meeting to remove Cheney from leadership. Foxx said Cheney has been a distraction to party efforts to unify behind the goal of retaking the House majority next year. But he called on House Republicans to provide more time for lawmakers to hold an election on Cheney’s replacement.
Other lawmakers are also calling on McCarthy to postpone the Friday election.
“My greater concern now is that we thoughtfully, deliberately, carefully seek out whom the best candidates or candidate would be to replace her and we don’t rush into a de facto coronation to slide in a candidate, person, who represents the liberal wing of the Republican Party,” Rep. Bob Good, a Virginia Republican, said Wednesday after the party voted to oust Cheney.
A top leadership aide confirmed McCarthy’s decision to schedule the Friday vote. That gives Republicans who oppose Stefanik less than two days to build support for an alternative candidate.
But it seems unlikely Stefanik can be defeated.
She has earned the enthusiastic endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who praised Stefanik’s messaging skills.
A co-founder of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Jim Jordan, also backs Stefanik.
But Good, along with Rep. Chip Roy of Texas and some others, says the process is being rushed.
They are hoping to push a Freedom Caucus member into the leadership role.
Stefanik votes mostly with Trump and the GOP but has a history of opposing them on key bills, including the party’s signature tax cut legislation.
Good said McCarthy is pushing “an accelerated timeline to try to get this done this week.”
Good added, “I’m very much opposed to that.”
Stefanik told reporters she has “a great deal” of support from the Freedom Caucus, and, indeed, an endorsement by Jordan, a former caucus chairman, is significant.
But the Freedom Caucus is not fully behind her, insisted Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican.
“She is trying to demonstrate her communication skills if she is saying something like that,” Buck told the Washington Examiner.
Stefanik will meet with the Freedom Caucus Wednesday night.
