May 5, 2021
 BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN THE TOPNew York Rep. Elise Stefanik told Republicans that former President Donald Trump is backing her bid to be House Republican Conference chair. Stefanik told her GOP colleagues she spoke to Trump Wednesday morning. Trump doesn’t have a say in the leadership election, but Stefanik is his close ally and the 45th president has a unique disdain for Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the current occupant of the leadership slot. Furthermore, the House Republican Conference is all but completely behind Trump as the leader of the GOP. The House Republican Conference is expected to move to vote on Cheney’s leadership position as soon as next week. Cheney has come under fire after repeatedly criticizing Trump for the Jan. 6 insurrection and saying the 2020 election was stolen. This comes on the same day the Facebook Oversight Board recommended Trump continue to be banned from the leading social media network. Read the NYT for more on that decision. |
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Our new weekly show, Fly Out Day, brings you inside the most consequential decisions shaping Congress with the people at the center of the story. From Hill leadership to Washington’s most-plugged in reporters, join us straight from our townhouse each Thursday evening. Watch the latest episode now.