Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) says he plans to vote to strip Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Republican Conference chairwoman, of her leadership role. However, he is not sure that the apparent front runner to replace her is the right person for the job.
In a memo to his colleagues on Tuesday, Roy argued that Republicans should be focused on blocking the Democratic agenda and making clear what they would do if they regained power in the House. However, he argued they are “falling prey to the high drama of swamp politics” as he addressed the controversy around Cheney.
“Most Americans do not know who the Republican Conference Chairwoman is or what she does. All they care about is whether we are fighting for them and fighting to stop the radical Democrat agenda,” he said.
He continued, “This is actually why Liz Cheney will lose her job as Chair this week: she forfeited her ability to be our spokesperson by pulling us into this direction. From a position designed to speak for all of us, she has been looking backwards while repeatedly and unhelpfully engaging in personal attacks and finger-wagging towards President Trump rather than leading the conference forward with a unifying message.”
Roy said he will vote to strip Cheney of her leadership role, but raised concerns about replacing her with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who has won the support of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).
He went through a list of several issues he argued are a “daily assault on everyday Americans on their way of life,” which he said had been “happening for years on Republicans’ watch.”
Read the letter below:
GOP Rep. Chip Roy slams Elise Stefanik in a memo to colleagues: "we should either choose someone who reflects our conservative values, or perhaps leave the position vacant…" pic.twitter.com/IrTwKjRKgr
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) May 11, 2021
“We must avoid putting in charge Republicans who campaign as Republicans but then vote for and advance the Democrats’ agenda once sworn in – that is, that we do not make the same mistakes we did in 2017,” the Texas Congressman said.
“Therefore, 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 ass-kicking we received by Democrats.”
He urged his Republicans to choose a member with a more conservative voting record or to consider not finding a replacement for Cheney at all.
While McCarthy and Scalise have said they would support Stefanik as a replacement to Cheney, some conservatives have raised concerns that she is not conservative enough.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Cheney voted in line with Trump 92.9% of the time while Stefanik voted in line with his positions 77.7% of the time.
