House GOP leaders are strongly signaling that they are unlikely to punish Rep. Liz Cheney for accepting Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s assignment to serve on the January 6 select committee, a shift from earlier this month when it appeared the Wyoming Republican was at risk of losing a key post for breaking with her colleagues.
No final decision has been made, but several top Republicans made clear that they viewed targeting Cheney as a distraction as the party seeks to focus its messaging on the Biden agenda in an effort to take back the House next year.
On Thursday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise both sidestepped questions about whether Cheney should be punished in any way – a sign that the issue is not being actively considered at the moment.
“I would hope she would look at the actions that Speaker Pelosi took that were unprecedented and in fact go against what Liz herself has said and step down from the committee because it has no credibility and why would anybody want to be associated with that?” Scalise told CNN, not answering directly when asked if Cheney should suffer any consequences.