Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell have very different leadership styles. Since Trump left office in January, McConnell and Republican senators have barely mentioned him (outside of lap-dog Lindsey Graham). Kevin McCarthy and GOP congresspeople, however, mention Trump every chance they get.
And there is also a big difference in how GOP senators and congresspeople are treating the issue of Liz Cheney. Most Reps. have been more than willing to throw Cheney under the bus, happy to see her punished for his disloyalty to Trump. But on Monday, one of the most prominent Republicans in the senate came to the Wyoming congresswoman’s defense.
Joni Ernst told reporters, “I think it’s important that we not all be typecast as, you know, this opinion is OK to express, but this is not. I think we all have our own things that we want to talk about and express. I think that’s Ok, but at the end of the day we’ve got to come together as Republicans.”
GOP Sen Joni Ernst stands up for Liz Cheney:
“I feel it’s okay to go ahead and express what you feel is right to express and, you know, cancel culture is cancel culture, no matter how you look at it.”
— Laura Litvan (@LauraLitvan) May 10, 2021
The Iowa lawmaker continued, “I feel it’s OK to go ahead and express what you feel is right to express and, you know, cancel culture is cancel culture, no matter how you look at it. And unfortunately I think there are those that are trying to silence others in the party. We can express different opinions, but we still have to be able to come together.”
While Ersnt was willing to come out and support Cheney, not all Republican senators are on the same page. When given the opportunity to defend Cheney, Mitch McConnell told reporters he’s solely focused on defeating Joe Biden’s agenda.
Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com and hillreporter.com. He enjoys sports, politics, comic books and spending time at the shore with his family.