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Cheney remains defiant, Rogers suggests she may run for president

“That’s what it looks like when somebody is running for president,” Congressman Mike Rogers said.

Alabama Republican Congressman Mike Rogers

On Wednesday, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, was removed from her leadership position in the House Republican Caucus for her decision to vote to impeach former President Donald Trump and subsequent statements critical of the former president and Trump supporters both in Congress.

A defiant Cheney did not apologize or show remorse. Some observers even hinted that she might run for president herself in order to thwart Trump from winning the Republican nomination in 2024.

Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, drew national headlines when he was quoted by The New York Times as saying, “That’s what it looks like when somebody is running for president,” as he and colleagues quickly walked past Cheney following Wednesday’s vote.

Cheney initially survived a coup attempt in February, but her strident anti-Trump position eroded her support in the caucus so greatly that House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, came out openly and called for Cheney’s ouster as the number three Republican in the House of Representatives. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, called for a vote on removing Cheney ahead of Wednesday’s caucus meeting.

The Alabama Republican Party was one of the first GOP groups to denounce Cheney. Members of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee were lobbying for support for a resolution urging Cheney’s ouster back in January. In February, the Alabama GOP passed that resolution at their annual Winter Meeting.

The resolution was written by Trump loyalist and GOP insider former state Rep. Perry Hooper Jr., who introduced the motion along with several other GOP Executive Committee members.

“The vote to remove Cheney speaks for itself,” Hooper said. “Republicans in the House do not want a Conference Chair that spends all of her time and energy criticizing President Trump and his supporters. She should be attacking the disastrous policies of the Biden Administration.”

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“As Republicans our priority is to do what is best for America,” Hooper said. “Cheney’s priority, however, is her petty personal vendetta against President Trump. This plays directly into the Democrats hands as well as the wishes of their willing allies in the liberal mainstream media.”

Cheney’s ouster means that the position of House Republican Conference Chair is vacant. New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Texas Congressman Chip Roy are both running for the vacancy.

“I fully support Representative Elise Stefanik as Cheney’s replacement,” Hooper said. “Since Elise was first elected in 2014, she has worked hard to recruit, support and elect more conservative Republican women to Congress. Republicans need a Conference Chair that has as her number one job regaining the House in 2022. Representative Stefanik would be the perfect choice to lead the charge.”

Cheney was asked by NBC News if she was running for president.

“I’m very focused on making sure that our party becomes again a party that stands for truth and stands for fundamental principles that are conservative,” she said. “And I won’t let a former president or anybody else unravel the democracy.”

Cheney is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

“Cheney will be out of a job when the voters of Wyoming replace her in the House with a Trump Republican in 2022,” Hooper said. “If she wants to run for President and get steamrolled in the Primary by President Trump, that is her right. It will not be pretty if she runs.”

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Brandon Moseley is a former reporter at the Alabama Political Reporter.

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