Last Updated on May 14, 2021 – 1:35 PM CDT
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune: Read More
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-New York, spoke to members of the media as she left a House Republican candidates forum for the running of the GOP conference chair, on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 13, 2021.
Credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Chip Roy fell short in his bid to become the third-ranking House Republican on Friday.
House Republicans voted 134-46 in a secret ballot in support of Roy’s rival, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New Yorker, according to multiple news reports.
The leadership race came to pass after the conference ousted U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming from that role for her criticism of President Donald Trump’s repeated lies that the 2020 election was stolen and for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Stefanik had several days worth of a head start on launching her leadership bid — Roy only formally announced his challenge to her on Thursday, the day before the vote. But also Trump released a scathing statement directed at Roy and endorsing Stefanik.
Roy’s fellow member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado nominated him for the position, according to reports. Another Republican from Colorado, freshman U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, seconded his nomination. Boebert is a highly controversial member of the freshman class who infuriated colleagues on Jan. 6, when she posted on social media the location of lawmakers and that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been removed from the chamber.