The drama that unfolded before the vote on Tuesday underscored the iron grip Mr. Trump still has on the party, as hard-right Republicans began to publicly argue that Ms. Stefanik was not sufficiently conservative or supportive enough of the former president to lead the conference.
In a memo circulated by Representative Chip Roy of Texas that was reported by Politico, he tore into Ms. Stefanik and accused the Republican leaders who have championed her of “rushing to coronate a spokesperson whose voting record embodies much of what led” to Republicans’ drubbing in the 2018 midterm elections.
He also denounced Ms. Cheney for “unhelpfully engaging in personal attacks and finger-wagging towards President Trump rather than leading the conference forward.” Mr. Roy’s letter reflected a determination among conservatives, who led the first, unsuccessful effort to oust Ms. Cheney in February, to exert their will on the party’s message.
Even outspoken allies of Ms. Cheney earlier this year appeared ready to abandon her. Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, a fellow defense hawk, told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he planned to vote to oust Ms. Cheney from leadership. In backing Ms. Cheney in February, Mr. Gallagher had warned that “we must be a big tent party or else condemn ourselves to irrelevance.”
But on Tuesday, Mr. Gallagher said in a statement: “House Democrats under Speaker Pelosi have been ruthless in advancing their radical progressive agenda, and Representative Cheney can no longer unify the House Republican conference in opposition to that agenda.”
Instead, Ms. Cheney found a set of unlikely allies rallying to her side: Democratic leaders.
“Liz Cheney spoke truth to power, and for that she is being fired,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader.
Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, chimed in to say he found it “sad” to watch Republican leaders pledge fealty to “such a dysfunctional leader as Donald Trump.”