Cheney roils GOP leadership on anti-Semitism vote
Politico by jbresnahan@politico.com (John Bresnahan)
House Republican leaders are pointing fingers at one another over how the party handled a vote on an anti-hate resolution, according to several GOP sources.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was upset last week that the Republican Conference chairwoman, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, along with 22 other Republicans, voted against the measure, the sources said. Members of leadership typically vote together as a pack.
But other members of McCarthy’s leadership team were frustrated that there wasn’t better communication about the GOP’s strategy on the resolution, which condemned all forms of bigotry and was crafted by Democrats in response to remarks seen as anti-Semitic by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
McCarthy said in a statement to POLITICO that the Republican “leadership team is in a great place.”
“Democrats have lost more MTRs in two months than Republicans did in eight years,” he said, referring to motions to recommit. “Their own members are incensed over their inability to stand up against anti-Semitism. If you’re looking for dysfunction, they have plenty of material.”
A motion to recommit offers the House minority one last shot at changing legislation before it receives a final floor vote. When it succeeds and an amendment is adopted, it typically indicates fractures within the majority party.
Cheney echoed McCarthy’s sentiment.
“The Democrats under Nancy Pelosi’s leadership have become the party of anti-Semitism, infanticide and socialism. Republicans in the House are absolutely committed to standing against this dangerous and shameful agenda,” Cheney said in a statement. “We have a unified leadership team dedicated to gaining our majority back and fighting for the American people.”
The entire leadership team huddled for an hour in McCarthy’s office Monday night to hash things out. During the meeting, McCarthy made clear that he prefers leadership to stick together and felt that Cheney stepped on their own messaging, according to sources familiar with the discussion.
Cheney, however, pointed out that she had informed both McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) how she intended to vote and was never discouraged from doing so or told that she needed to vote yes, according to sources. Cheney also emphasized that she wants to be a team player.
Cheney defended her decision to vote against the Democratic resolution during an interview with Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday, arguing that the resolution was watered down to protect Omar. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) broadened the initial resolution, which rejected only anti-Semitism, after facing pushback from progressives and black lawmakers.
While conservatives applauded Cheney’s move, other Republicans privately worried that 23 GOP defections took some of the heat off Democrats, who had been wrestling with internal divisions — and negative headlines — all week.
A Republican leadership aide said that the resolution vote was a one-off example of a split in leadership, and that they typically don’t whip suspension bills anyway. But the aide also suggested that if Cheney doesn’t fall in line for a key vote in the future, it might warrant a serious discussion about her being a team player.
“We’re stronger when we vote together, but everybody has their own voting card,” McCarthy said at a news conference last week.
Cheney, a sophomore member of Congress who has quickly ascended through the leadership ranks, has repeatedly shown she is willing to stand up for what she believes in — and that could pose a real test for GOP leadership in the future.
As a freshman, she went nose-to-nose with then-Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for not seeking a big enough budget increase for the Pentagon. And while Cheney is a staunch conservative and defender of President Donald Trump, she has also challenged the White House on issues like the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. |
