Jordan says ‘votes are there’ to oust Cheney from GOP leadership

GOP Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) on Wednesday said that Republican lawmakers have the votes to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from GOP House leadership.

Jordan, in an appearance on Fox News, said that Cheney, the House Republican Conference chairwoman, “definitely needs to go,” citing her longtime criticism of former President Trump.

“You can’t have a Republican conference chair reciting Democrat talking points,” Jordan told Fox News. “You can’t have a Republican conference chair taking a position that 90 percent of the party disagrees with, and you can’t have a Republican Party chair consistently speaking out against the individual who 74 million Americans voted for.” 

Jordan added that he was in favor of ousting Cheney “three months ago,” claiming that “you can’t be the conference chair when you consistently speak out against the leader of our party and you consistently speak out against the positions that the vast, vast, vast majority of our party and our country, I think, holds.”

House Republicans are charging ahead in their attempt to oust Cheney as head of the party conference. The move has been endorsed by top Republicans, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (La.), who say Cheney cannot remain in her top role if she will not embrace Trump’s message or limit her vocal criticism. 

Jordan on Wednesday said he believes “for sure the votes are there” to remove Cheney, predicting that the move will happen next week.

The Ohio lawmaker also targeted Cheney for attacking Trump on his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, his strategy in Afghanistan and more. 

Cheney, who was one of 10 GOP members of the House who voted to impeach Trump earlier this year, on Wednesday called on Republicans to move away from what she called a “Trump cult of personality” and vowed to continue speaking out. 

“History is watching. Our children are watching,” she wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post. “We must be brave enough to defend the basic principles that underpin and protect our freedom and our democratic process. I am committed to doing that, no matter what the short-term political consequences might be.”