House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has set a vote today to remove Congresswoman Liz Cheney from her leadership post and make New York’s Elise Stefanik the No. 3 Republican. McCarthy says he and his fellow Republicans “need to make a change.” McCarthy did not mention Cheney or former President Donald Trump by name. But the move comes after Cheney repeatedly challenged Trump’s false assertions pinning his November reelection defeat on widespread voting fraud and criticized Trump's role in encouraging supporters’ January 6th attack on the Capitol. Stefanik, of the 21st district, is in her fourth term and has become a vociferous Trump ally after refusing to say his name in 2016.
For more on Stefanik’s rise, WAMC’s Ian Pickus spoke with Jacqueline Alemany of The Washington Post. She writes the Power Up newsletter and previously spent six years with CBS News.
