McConnell has high praises for Cheney but mum on ouster

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) said on Wednesday that he still honors GOP Rep. Liz Cheney (WY.) as a leader.
• McConnell, however, was silent on whether he was in favor or not of removing Cheney as GOP House chair.
• House GOPs were criticizing Cheney for going against former President Donald Trump’s claims of a “rigged” election.

Republican and House Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (KY.) said on Wednesday that he remains in admiration of GOP Rep. Liz Cheney (WY.), though he declined to comment whether it was right to oust her as the House GOP chair.

Asked during his interview whether his statements last February with Fox News still hold true — that Cheney is a “leader of deep conviction” and an “important leader in our party and our nation” — McConnell said that his thoughts were still the same.

“Well, there is no change. I stand by what I said about Liz Cheney before. I’m a great admirer of hers. But as to who is supposed to be in the leadership in the House, that’s up to House Republicans,” he said.

McConnell’s statements came shortly after the House GOP hosted a closed-door meeting on Wednesday to put a vote and oust Cheney from her leadership post. The Wyoming congresswoman earned the ire of her fellow partymates for going against former president Donald Trump.

She was a critic of the former leader for continuously making false statements that there was massive election fraud and that he got “cheated.” Cheney voted to impeach Trump for inciting the violence on the January 6 Capitol attack.

“Look, it’s up to the House to make these kinds of decisions,” McConnell said when asked about the House GOP’s move to remove her from the conference chair.

McConnell was also asked whether he agreed with Cheney’s statements from the House floor last night, that Trump “provoked a violent attack on the Capitol” and “risks inciting further violence,” but he dismissed the question.

“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you I’m focusing on dealing with the conditions we find ourselves in now,” he said, adding that as regards to the election, he “voted to certify the election. I expressed myself on that issue on several different occasions several months ago. But now we’re in May.”

During Trump’s second impeachment trial last February, McConnell voted to acquit the ex-president. He noted, though, that he was “morally responsible” for inciting violence on the January 6 Capitol siege, wherein a wild group of pro-Trump supporters illegally trespassed the legislative house and halted the ongoing Electoral College vote to certify the victory of then-President-elect Joe Biden.

Source: The Hill