- Rep.
Elise Stefanik of New York is now the third-highest-ranking member of House GOP leadership. - Stefanik was elected conference chair on Friday following Rep. Liz Cheney's ouster.
- The New York congresswoman won 134-46.
House Republicans on Friday elected Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York to the third-highest position in the conference.
Stefanik won 134-46, according to reports from Capitol Hill. She takes over as the conference chair following Wednesday's ouster of Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
A staunch Trump ally, Stefanik campaigned for the position as Cheney's standing among Republican colleagues waned. Cheney had repeatedly called out former President Donald Trump for his role in the Capitol riot and had refused to echo his lies that the 2020 election was illegitimate.
-Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 14, 2021
Stefanik compared her win to the upset victory of American revolutionaries over the British Empire at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777.
"At my home in upstate New York, my husband and I live just a few miles from the Saratoga National Battlefield, where 244 years ago the founding of the great American experiment was in grave danger, hanging on by a thread as the prospects looked grim for those early patriots seeking to found a new country based on the ideals of liberty, freedom, and a limited government of the people, for the people, and by the people," Stefanik said, according to Punchbowl News.
"Great Britain looked to finish off the war once and for all," she continued. "But the American patriots were disciplined and steadfast in carrying out their mission."
Stefanik said the GOP's goal was "winning back the majority in 2022 to save our country from the radical democrat socialist agenda under Speaker Pelosi and President Biden."
While Stefanik has referred to Joe Biden as the president, she's doubled down on Trump's lies about voter fraud and his baseless claim that the election was stolen from him. Trump had backed Stefanik for conference chair.
Tensions around Cheney's post built after the Capitol insurrection on January 6.
Cheney voted to impeach Trump and has consistently spoken out about the former president's lies and said he could incite further violence.
Trump allies then rallied around a 2022 primary challenge to bounce her out of
Amid the pressure from within her own party, Cheney has accused some members of whitewashing the insurrection and has expressed support for an investigation into the riot.
Cheney skipped Friday's vote, according to Manu Raju of CNN.