Jordan calls on Cheney to step down from House leadership

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is calling on House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (Wyo.) to be removed from leadership for announcing her plans to vote to impeach President Trump for inciting last week’s riot at the Capitol.

Jordan, a founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and one of Trump’s top defenders in the House, joined other GOP allies of Trump in calling for Cheney to step down from the role.

“We ought to have a second vote,” Jordan told reporters, according to the Capitol Hill reporter pool. “The conference ought to vote on that.”

A group of conservatives have begun circulating a petition calling for Cheney to be ousted from House leadership.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) would not comment when asked multiple times on his thoughts on the matter or whether he would back the effort.

Jordan’s comments echo those of Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) and Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.).

“When Representative Cheney came out for impeachment today, she failed to consult with the Conference, failed to abide by the spirit of the rules of the Republican Conference, and ignored the preferences of Republican voters,” Rosendale said in a statement Tuesday. “She is weakening our conference at a key moment for personal political gain and is unfit to lead. She must step down as Conference Chair.”

Biggs told Fox News that he didn’t think Cheney “should be the chair of the Republican conference anymore.”

“The reality is she’s not representing the conference; she’s not representing the Republican ideals,” he said.

Cheney announced Tuesday that she planned to vote in favor of impeachment, arguing the president failed to uphold his oath to the Constitution and misled his supporters with his rhetoric repeatedly claiming the election was “stolen” and calling on his supporters to march to the Capitol.

“None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution,” she said in a statement on Tuesday. 

Five people died amid the riot last week, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was struck by a fire extinguisher while working to stop rioters from entering the building.

Updated: 1:40 p.m.