The House GOP has voted to keep Republican Representative Liz Cheney installed in her leadership position on Wednesday night via a secret ballot.
Cheney will keep her position as the House GOP Conference Chair, the third-ranking position in Republican’s House leadership roster.
Two sources told CNN that Cheney, during an eight-minute speech at the beginning of the meeting, refused to apologize for voting for impeachment and gave a “calm yet stern defense of the Constitution.”
“I won’t apologize for my vote,” Cheney, who is already facing at least one challenger back at home, reportedly told other Republicans.
Both House Republican leader McCarthy and Minority Whip Scalise openly showed their support for Cheney, who also took questions from lawmakers who supported the former president, a source said to CNN.
Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Scott Perry accused Cheney of “comforting the enemy.” GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale and Cheney also had a somewhat heated exchange, according to reports, during which Rosendale was angered with Cheney.
But one lawmaker went further than the rest, Republican Matt Gaetz from Florida, who went to the Wyoming Capitol Building last week to give a speech criticizing Cheney, saying that she did not represent “the will” of her voters.
“It’s very hard for Liz to get the blood off her hands after sending our people to die for unknowable reasons,” Gaetz stated.
