BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN

THE TOP

House Republicans didn’t even need a recorded vote.

The GOP Conference booted Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) from their leadership by voice vote. This is the most drastic move thus far to oust a prominent critic of former president Donald Trump from the top of their party.

Removing Cheney took roughly 15 minutes.

The Wyoming Republican — who won her leadership slot in 2018 — had been vocal about her opposition to Trump, and thereby drifting from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). The final straw for many Republicans came during a party retreat in Orlando, when Cheney left open the possibility that Trump should be prosecuted. Cheney also told Punchbowl News at that retreat in Orlando last month that she looked forward to campaigning on her vote to impeach the former president during her primary contest in Wyoming next year.

Here are the dynamics House Republicans need to confront next:

→ A clutch of conservatives — Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson — are pushing back on New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, McCarthy’s pick to replace Cheney. McCarthy scheduled a candidate forum for Thursday so lawmakers can hear from Stefanik. The election to replace Cheney will be Friday. Stefanik seems to have the election under control — she needs roughly 107 votes to win, and her team believes she has that.

→ McCarthy now needs to figure out how to bring his party together. He has pockets of discontent: chiefly conservatives who think he rushed Stefanik into the role; and Cheney and her allies who think McCarthy is a lap dog for Trump. McCarthy is bullish about taking back the majority, but he has work to do here. 

McCarthy said this in the closed door meeting today: "Every day we waste fighting each other is a day we aren’t fighting the Democrats … This is the job you elected me to do and I will always do what I think is best for this team to take back the majority so we can save this country."

McCarthy sought to rally Republicans by rattling off the Democrats who were leaving the House or considering it: Reps. Cheri Bustos (Ill.), Stephanie Murphy (Fla.), Filemon Vela (Texas), Ann Kirkpatrick (Ariz.) and Charlie Crist (Fla.). The message from McCarthy was it was time to focus on Democrats, not on Trump. 

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for more in the Midday edition.