Cheney primary prompts sharp GOP divide in Washington
CNN
Republican lawmakers are starting to choose sides in the fight to defeat Rep. Liz Cheney in Wyoming, placing high-stakes bets in a divisive primary that is widely seen as a referendum on Donald Trump and cementing deep rifts in the GOP over the direction of the party.
In an extraordinary move on Thursday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy -- who has been under pressure from his right flank to put his political muscle behind ousting Cheney -- officially endorsed her primary foe Harriet Hageman, who is backed by Trump. Less than 24 hours later, House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik of New York, the No. 3 Republican who replaced Cheney in leadership, also threw her weight behind Hageman.
"House Republicans were ready for a change when I took over as Conference Chair, and it's resoundingly clear that Wyoming families are too," Stefanik said in a statement Friday. "Liz Cheney abandoned her constituents to become a Far-Left Pelosi puppet. Liz sadly belongs in an MSNBC or CNN news chair, not in Congress representing Wyoming — a state that voted for President Trump by over forty points."