A Republican Power Struggle

Honderich, H. (2021, May 6). Elise Stefanik: From republican moderate to Trump favourite. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57001498

The author states that A Republican power struggle is likely to spell the political demise of congresswoman Liz Cheney from her number 3 spot in the party. Her fall stems from her continued criticism of Trump. The author mentions that her replacement is likely to be New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik who is now one of Trump's most determined defender. Back in 2014, Elise Stefanik is said to have secured public office by billing herself as a traditional independent conservative, and she managed to flip a democratic-controlled seat in upstate New York. From an independent conservative back then, Stefanik has become a stalwart defender of Donald Trump in the past few years. The political stand is associated with her rise within the Republican party. When she took office in 2015, Stefanik managed to position herself as a moderate and openly spoke against Trump. She is said to have even bucked the party line in some high-profile votes such as Trump's 2017 tax law and did regard his withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement as a mistake. However, things changed in 2019 during Trump’s first impeachment. She emerged as a vocal defender of Trump while she served in the House Intelligence Committee. She clashed with the Democrats and particularly her clash with Adam Schiff, Democrats lead impeachment manager, and this made her go viral. Obviously, Trump took notice and wrote on his Twitter that " A new Republican Star is born." Stefanik was also very vocal during Trump's second impeachment trial. She supported her right-wing colleagues in proposing Joe Biden's presidential win. The conservative group heritage Action for America gave her a lifetime score of 48% for votes on Republican issues.  

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