House GOP Votes on Liz Cheney

House Republicans decided Wednesday to stand by two GOP lawmakers who have polarized the party, voting to retain Rep. Liz Cheney as their No. 3 leader and saying they’d fight a Democratic push to kick Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off her committees, the AP reports. In a 145-61 secret-ballot vote, House Republicans overwhelmingly rebuffed a rebellion by hard-right conservatives to toss Cheney, R-Wyo., from leadership after she voted last month to impeach then-President Trump. Hours earlier, after Democrats slated a House vote for Thursday that would remove Greene from her committees, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy ridiculed them for it. His comments signaled he was dismissing bipartisan demands that the hard-right Georgia Republican be punished for her online embrace of racist and violent views and bizarre conspiracy theories.

The moves were typical of McCarthy's preference to avoid ruffling feathers as he charts his path to someday becoming House speaker. “You know what that’s going to mean?" he told reporters after the lengthy evening meeting. ”Two years from now, we're going to win the majority. That’s because this conference is more united. We’ve got the right leadership team behind it.” But each of the GOP's wings remains concerned that the other is leading them down the wrong path, and to some, the day's outcome seemed more an uneasy truce than a full-on peace treaty. As for Greene, attendants said the conspiracy theories she's embraced came up during the spirited closed-door meeting. Some said Greene apologized to her colleagues, though there were conflicting, vague versions of exactly what she'd said. The Hill and other outlets report she received a standing ovation when she finished speaking.

(More Liz Cheney stories.)