Kevin McCarthy also denounced the removal of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committees.
House Republicans voted on Wednesday to keep Rep. Liz Cheney at the head of the Republican Party, despite her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump last month, with a strong majority in the conference rejecting the challenge of Trump to punish the Wyoming Republican.
The conference voted 145-61 in a secret ballot, after members spent hours expressing frustrations about Cheney’s vote, MP Marjorie Taylor Greene’s previous support for conspiracy theories and leadership of House minority leader Kevin McCarthy at the conference after Trump’s defeat.
“We really had an excellent vote tonight and an excellent time tonight, defining what we are going to do in the future, as well as making it clear that we are not going to be divided and that we are not going to be in a situation where people can take any member of the leadership” Cheney told reporters after the meeting. “It was a very resounding recognition that we need to move forward together and in a way that helps us to be back.”
In comments to her colleagues, the president of the Republican House Conference did not apologize for her vote on Trump’s impeachment for inciting the January 6 Capitol rebellion, and welcomed the referendum on her position, after a week-long campaign. Trump supporters to expel her from the conference and recruit a major challenge to defeat her next year.
McCarthy, who has been criticized by colleagues for changing statements about Trump’s responsibility for the invasion of the Capitol, endorsed Cheney and encouraged Republicans to keep her on the leadership team.
Cheney was also supported by other Republicans at the conference, including Congressman Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., One of nine other Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment, according to a source familiar with the conference meeting.
She was criticized by others at the conference, including Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., Who compared Cheney’s support to the impeachment of seeing a girlfriend cheer for the other team at a football game, an observation that was not well received by women at the conference, according to a source familiar with the comments.
Congressman Tom Rice, RS.C., a conservative who surprised Republicans by voting for Trump’s impeachment, questioned McCarthy’s decision to travel to Mar-a-Lago to meet with the former president last week.
Republican Party leaders emerged from the meeting describing a united front, even as the flaws remained over how to position the party with Trump out of office, but potentially facing a 2024 race in the White House.
“The number one thing that happened at this conference was unity. People were able to expose their differences, they were able to concentrate,” McCarthy told reporters.
Greene, who faced intense criticism for previous comments promoting conspiracy theories about school shootings and QAnon, apologized to members for the comments and expressed regret for some of the previous comments, a move that was appreciated by some members in the room.
The battered congressman received a standing ovation in about half the conference, according to a source in the room.
McCarthy rejected Democrats’ calls for Greene to be removed from the House’s Education and Budget committees because of the controversy, but blamed Democrats for rejecting his proposal to put her on the Small Business Committee. The House will proceed with a resolution by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., To remove Greene from these committees.
After the meeting, the California Republican leader repeatedly denounced the conspiracy theories that Greene allegedly promoted. The Georgia Republican has not yet repudiated his previous comments in public and instead doubled down on Twitter, accusing Democrats of targeting her because of her race and religious beliefs. She also boasted about raising more than $ 100,000 on Wednesday amid the reaction.
“I want to see her do this on Twitter and in public, however. I think it would be a good idea,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, of Greene’s apology.