'Personal spat' between Cheney and Stefanik exposes 'raw and angry wounds' in GOP: report

A dispute between two prominent GOP leaders Saturday, January 27, shed light on a clear divide with the Republican Party and its views on the aftermath of January 6.

On her X/Twitter account Saturday, January 27, former US Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) responded to US Rep. Elise Stefanik's (R-NY) recent deletion of her 2021 statement — which called for the prosecution of January 6 rioters — from social media. The New York MAGA congresswoman now calls those who have been convicted, "hostages."

Cheney called the now deleted statement a "rare moment of honesty" from the GOP lawmaker who replaced her as House Republican Conference chair, emphasizing that Stefanik "will have to explain how and why she morphed into a total crackpot."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

The New York congresswoman "lashed back at Cheney and accused her of having a 'mental breakdown,' predicting that the former Wyoming congresswoman "will never hold any elected office again."

In a Sunday, January 28 report, Politico notes, "The two were both previously seen as next-generation leaders of the Republican establishment, before diverging in their views of Trump. Cheney has recently vowed to do anything she can to stop Trump’s return to the White House, while Stefanik is widely seen as campaigning to become Trump’s running mate."

The news outlet also notes, "The caustic personal spat exposed how raw and angry the wounds of Jan. 6 remain within the Republican Party. Few lawmakers embody the political consequences of that day more than Cheney, who lost her role in House leadership after voting to impeach Trump, and Stefanik, who replaced Cheney in that role and gained ever greater prominence as a Trump defender."

Republican public opinion pollster Christine Matthews, according to the report, "described the unfolding fight as 'the story of two women: one who put principles above ambition and the other who put ambition above principles.'"

READ MORE: Elise Stefanik caught deleting statement calling for January 6 rioters to be prosecuted

Matthews added, "It is also the story of the evolution of the Republican Party, which once used issues as a litmus test for who was inside and who was outside the norm. Now it uses pitch — whoever matches their pitch to Trump most closely is the person who belongs inside the party."

Politico's full report is here.