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Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) called on House Republican Conference chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to "step down or be removed" after a heated conference meeting on Tuesday.
The backdrop: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and other members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus attacked Cheney, the most senior female Republican in the House, for breaking with President Trump on several occasions and supporting a primary opponent against Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Politico first reported and Axios can confirm.
What they're saying: "Liz Cheney has worked behind the scenes (and now in public) against @realDonaldTrump and his agenda," Gaetz tweeted. "House Republicans deserve better as our Conference Chair. Liz Cheney should step down or be removed. #MAGA"
- Donald Trump Jr. quote-tweeted Gaetz and wrote: "We already have one Mitt Romney, we don’t need another... we also don’t need the endless wars she advocates for."
Behind the scenes: About five or six members of the House GOP conference are upset at Cheney, but the majority support how she has carried herself, a source familiar with the meeting told Axios' Alayna Treene.
- Cheney spoke at the beginning of the meeting — before the blow-up — about the dangers of a Biden-Pelosi-Schumer regime, why they represent a threat to the country, and how everyone wants the same goal: To see Trump re-elected, take back the House, and keep the Senate.
- Despite breaking with Trump a few times recently, including over reports of Russian bounties in Afghanistan, Cheney has voted with the president 97% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.