After all that, only 61 Republicans voted to oust Rep. Liz Cheney as conference chair with 145 voting against the resolution and one member voting present:
#BREAKING: Cheney survives. 61-145-1 was the vote. One was a present vote. She remains conference chair, per multiple sources
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 4, 2021
Before the vote, Cheney refused to apologize for her vote to impeach former President Trump:
CNN's @jeffzeleny reports that Cheney spoke for 8 minutes and told the conference that she would not apologize for her vote to impeach Trump.
— Lauren Fox (@FoxReports) February 3, 2021
It was a secret ballot:
Liz Cheney is going to keep her job, and the secret ballot vote shows you how many Republicans can’t say out loud they oppose(d) Trump but do oppose him in private
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) February 4, 2021
We do think it would have been different if members had to go on record:
The lopsided vote to keep Liz Cheney in leadership—despite her vote for impeachment—tells us something about how House Republicans actually feel about Trump.
The difference:
Impeachment vote was public.
Cheney vote was secret ballot.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 4, 2021
So, is this a “big, big, miss by the Trump wing of the House GOP”?
This was a big, big miss by the Trump wing of the House GOP. Big. Big. Big. Big. Big.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 4, 2021
Cheney will likely face a primary ahead of the 2022 elections:
Cheney-friendly media emphasizing she survived a no confidence vote. Indeed she did. But having to face such a vote is quite obviously not a sign of political strength. Neither is being unpopular with one's constituents after misreading the political winds on a 197-10 vote. https://t.co/SBmM1TU92p
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) February 4, 2021
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So, we’ll have to wait to see just how this all plays out:
I’d like to see her Wyoming numbers in six months. If she gets tossed in a primary, this all means nothing. https://t.co/y1eKEYM6gv
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) February 4, 2021
Rep. Matt Gaetz had earlier predicted there were enough votes to boot Cheney from leadership:
"My concern is that though today, we have the votes to remove Liz Cheney, somehow the Establishment's going to find a way to kick the question, avoid a vote…" -Rep. Gaetz pic.twitter.com/7ljApfhf0z
— Luke Ball (@LukeTBall) February 3, 2021
Narrator: There were not enough votes:
No we voted. You were just wrong by like, a huuuuuge margin. https://t.co/2iwjlxpB3J
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) February 4, 2021
Gaetz later vowed to continue working against the establishment, of both parties:
Matt Gaetz: Tonight, the Republicans decided to keep Liz Cheney. Tomorrow, the Democrats will boot Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committees pic.twitter.com/arnNKVLO6H
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) February 4, 2021
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