Liz Cheney and Elise Stefanik

With Rep. Elizabeth L. “Liz” Cheney ousted as House Republican Conference chair Wednesday, Rep. Elise M. Stefanik moved quickly to line up colleagues’ support for her to be named to the position.

Rep. Cheney of Wyoming was voted out of the third-highest leadership position within the Republican Party during a reported closed-door meeting in the basement of the U.S. Capitol. Her removal came after she made repeated statements criticizing former President Donald J. Trump and his claims that the 2020 presidential election was fraught with voter fraud, as well as the role these contentions may have played in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

Following the vote for her removal, Rep. Cheney said during a press availability that she is committed to fighting for the Republican Party, but that “the nation needs a party that is based upon fundamental principles of conservatism.” She continued her criticism of former President Trump, saying that she will continue to “do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office.”

“I think that the party is in a place that we have got to bring it back from, and we’ve got to get back to a position where we are a party that can fight for conservative principles, that can fight for substance. We cannot be dragged backward by the very dangerous lies of a former president,” Rep. Cheney said.

Rep. Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, who represents New York’s 21st Congressional District, has received the former president’s endorsement to become the new chair, with the endorsement coming shortly after the No. 2 House Republican, Minority Whip Stephen J. Scalise, R-La., also officially endorsed her. House Minority Kevin O. McCarthy of California also subsequently offered his endorsement.

Now the clear front-runner to replace Rep. Cheney, Rep. Stefanik issued a letter Wednesday asking for colleagues’ vote for the seat.

“Despite the media’s endless attempts to divide us, our Members are united in our laser focus on defeating the radical Socialist Democrat agenda of President Biden and Speaker Pelosi,” Rep. Stefanik wrote in the letter. “Our Members believe that the stakes are far too high for us to be divided. We stand shoulder to shoulder in believing that we have a historic opportunity to work as a team to win back the Majority in 2022 on behalf of the American people and save our great country.”

Rep. Stefanik called for a “unified conservative vision” on issues that are important to Americans, claiming that the legislative agenda put forth by President Joseph R. Biden and House Speaker Nancy P. Pelosi imposes “trillions of dollars in new taxes on hard working Americans, trillions in reckless federal spending, unconstitutional gun control bills, amnesty measures that accelerate the crisis at the border, job-killing regulations, a federal takeover of our elections, dangerous national security policies, and invasive government overreach trampling our Constitutional freedoms and liberties.”

“Our communications posture must be to go on aggressive offense every single day to break through the biased media,” she wrote to her colleagues. “Our Conference must engage across all media platforms including conservative outlets and alternative tech platforms. Our Members should be provided key messaging points to fight back against the Far-Left media narrative on the issues most important to our constituents.”

Rep. Stefanik outlined her goals as conference chair in the letter:

“1. A disciplined, unified message from our leadership team and Republican Conference focused on key issues important to voters. The media and Socialist Democrats will attempt to divide us. We will not take the bait; our message must be disciplined to offensively prosecute the disastrous and destructive Biden and Pelosi agenda.

“2. A communications posture on offense every single day. It is imperative that we not only go on offense against the Socialist Democrats, but we need to be on offense when dealing with the biased mainstream media. Americans are yearning for a conservative vision; we must communicate that message clearly, consistently, and continuously.

“3. Empower all our Members to shine. Our Members have incredible personal stories and diverse backgrounds that embody the American Dream and our conservative principles. It is important to highlight our Members individually instead of focusing exclusively on our leadership team. We need to focus on spotlighting our individual Members and their conservative policy solutions and introducing them to the American people. It is the Conference’s job to support our Members’ ability to engage and win the daily media cycle in their district and nationally.”

Also Wednesday, all 12 Republican Party chairs in NY-21 endorsed Rep. Stefanik for the Republican Conference chair.

“Elise has played an instrumental role in growing our party at the state level and has helped Republicans in the North Country win elections up and down the ballot,” the chairs said in a letter of endorsement. “In the past year, she has worked hand in glove with us to register twice as many Republicans than Democrats across the district. We are confident that Elise will expand on that success as House Republican Conference Chair to fire Nancy Pelosi and flip the House. We are proud to fully support her candidacy.”

No date has been announced for a vote on the chair’s position.