Donald Trump has congratulated Elise Stefanik on her "big and overwhelming victory" after she was elected as the new Republican conference chair.
Following the result on Friday, the former President said that "the House GOP is united and the Make America Great Again movement is Strong!"
Representative Elise Stefanik will now replace Liz Cheney as Republican conference chair after the lawmaker was ousted for blasting "dangerous" Donald Trump for "perpetuating lies."
The New York congresswoman, 36, was voted into the leadership role by House Republicans on Friday just two days after Cheney was removed over her opposition to the former president.
The vote for Stefanik was conducted by secret ballot on Friday morning.
She won the role, which places her in the No. 3-ranking position within the party, with a final tally of 134-46.
“My focus is on unity because that’s what the American people, and that’s what our voters, deserve,” Stefanik told reporters after the vote.
She also thanked Trump who had endorsed her for the position.
Stefanik called him “a critical part of our Republican team.”
Trump congratulated Stefanik on her appointment, claiming that it united House Republicans.
"Congratulations to Elise Stefanik for her Big and Overwhelming victory!" he said in a statement.
"The House GOP is united and the Make America Great Again movement is Strong!"
Cheney had been a vocal critic of Trump and his continued influence on the Republican party.
She denounced the "big lie" that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen from him.
Trump has refused to concede to Biden despite presenting no evidence of widespread voter fraud and having multiple lawsuits attempting to overturn the results thrown from court.
Cheney had directly blamed the former president for the violence on January 6 that resulted in the deaths of five people after his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
She was among ten Republicans in the House to vote to impeach Trump for the second time on a charge of inciting an insurrection.
Even as she received pushback from her party and risked losing her leadership role, Cheney refused to pull back her criticism of Trump.
She continued to say that he “risks inciting further violence” and “continues to undermine our democratic process, sowing seeds of doubt about whether democracy really works at all.”
Cheney still remained defiant after she lost her position and issued a warning to Trump.
The Wyoming congresswoman blasted Trump and his "enablers" within the GOP as she cautioned that the "threat is ongoing."
"I think the question is what kind of a party are we going to be going forward," she told Fox.
I think it's very important for us to be a party based on truth. I think it's important for us to understand the threat that the claims the former president is making.
CHENEY REMAINS DEFIANT
"There is clearly an attempt to unravel the democracy, if you will, by focusing on challenging the legitimacy of the election… abandoning the rule of law," Cheney continued.
"I think for us as Republicans, we have a huge set of issues we have got to be able to defeat the Democrats over.
"We have to get people to vote for us. And we can't do that if we are a party that's based on a foundation of lies. I think what the former president is doing is dangerous."
It is not known who voted Cheney out as the secret ballot was conducted by voice.
She has been praised by top Democrat Reps. Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Nancy Pelosi of California for remaining steadfast in her anti-Trump stance.
Her replacement Stefanik, a fourth-term congresswoman, has instead continued to be a supporter of the former president.
In 2019, she garnered national attention for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial.
She received his backing for party chair and was also endorsed by House Republican leaders Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise.
In 2014, Stefanik was the youngest woman to ever be elected into congress at 30-years-old, before Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was elected in 2016.
She was a front runner to replace Cheney but faced a last-minute challenge from Texas Rep. Chip Roy as some Republicans complained that she is not conservative enough.
“Elise Stefanik is NOT a good spokesperson for the House Republican Conference,” the conservative Club for Growth tweeted last week.
“House Republicans should find a conservative to lead messaging and win back the House Majority."
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Trump had blasted Chip's challenge in a statement issued on Thursday night.
"Can’t imagine Republican House Members would go with Chip Roy—he has not done a great job, and will probably be successfully primaried in his own district," he said.
"I support Elise, by far, over Chip!"
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