New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik appears in Washington on Friday.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / Reuters
Republicans elected 36-year-old Trumpist Elise Stefanik on Friday to replace Liz Cheney as president of the Republican Conference in Congress, the third-highest office in the US House of Representatives. The vote closes a week in which the party made it clear that its loyalty to Donald Trump remains intact. Conservative congressmen removed Cheney from the top of the bloc on Wednesday for criticizing the former president's unfounded narrative that there was electoral fraud in the elections that Democrat Joe Biden won.
"I think voters determine the leader of the Republican Party, and President Trump is the leader they look at," said Stefanik, a congressman from New York, after the closed-door vote.
“I support President Trump.
Voters support President Trump.
He is an important voice in our Republican Party and I look forward to working with him, ”added the new number three of the House of Representatives.
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Stefanik, who had the support of the former president and the two main leaders of his bloc in Congress, received 134 votes, followed by Chip Roy, representative of Texas, who obtained 46. He ran because he considered that Stefanik's voting record He was too moderate: He opposed Trump's 2017 tax cuts and his efforts to divert budget funds to build the wall with Mexico. The congresswoman detailed this Friday in a statement that the bloc will focus on growing the economy, getting people back to work, reopening schools, promoting US energy independence, strengthening national security "and protecting the Constitution." According to two sources familiar with the matter cited by the
AP
agency
, the legislator will occupy the leadership position only until next year.
Trump celebrated his candidate's triumph in a statement: “Congratulations to Elise Stefanik for her great and overwhelming victory!
The Republican Party in the House of Representatives is united and the
Make America Great Again
movement
is strong! "
The former president has more reasons to celebrate.
The decision to remove the daughter of Dick Cheney, vice president with George W. Bush (2001-2009) is a warning without second reading that the party continues to embrace Trumpism.
Conservatives have their sights set on the 2022 legislative elections, where they want to retake control of the chambers.
The fact that they do not tolerate the discrepancy to the fraudulent ghosts that Trump shakes is because they consider that his figure is the most powerful to succeed in the elections.
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