If you’re reading this on Wednesday it is very possible the vote has already been taken in the House Republican caucus to strip Rep. Liz Cheney of her leadership position. Her anti-Trump gamble takes courage and is the right thing to do. But in politics you must pick your fights. This was a bad choice.

FNC: “House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Monday sent a letter to House Republicans telling them to expect a vote in their Wednesday conference meeting to remove Rep. Liz Cheney as the conference chair. The letter comes after it became clear Republicans would make such a move during their regularly-scheduled meeting amid increasing discontent with Cheney, R-Wyo. McCarthy, R-Calif., last week was already making calls to clear the field for Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to replace Cheney.

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“Cheney voted to impeach former President Donald Trump and vocally blamed Trump’s false claims that the presidential election was stolen for the attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters. That vote and those comments led to an attempt to remove her as conference chair earlier this year, which she easily survived with the help of McCarthy. But as many Republicans have worked to rehabilitate the image of the former president — and made the political calculation that the party cannot succeed in the midterms without his backing — discontent with Cheney has slowly grown. As other Republicans who voted to impeach Trump have seemed to move on to direct their fire at President Biden, Cheney has continued to lambaste Trump and said the GOP needs to distance itself from him.

“This has led to awkward moments with other House leaders, brewing discontent among rank-and-file members and a schism that seemed to irreparably explode at House Republicans’ policy retreat in Florida late last month. Cheney, for her part, has not backed down from her position that Republicans must denounce Trump’s false election claims, which he’s continued to relitigate as recently as Monday.”

“Just as we serve at the will of our constituents, this leadership team should exist to serve you, not the other way around,” McCarthy wrote to fellow GOP House members on Monday. “Unfortunately, each day spent relitigating the past is one day less we have to seize the future…Having heard from so many of you in recent days, it’s clear that we need to make a change. As such, you should anticipate a vote on recalling the Conference Chair this Wednesday.”

Cheney responded, “The question before us now is whether we will join Trump’s crusade to delegitimize and undo the legal outcome of the 2020 election, with all the consequences that might have. While embracing or ignoring Trump’s statements might seem attractive to some for fundraising and political purposes, that approach will do profound long-term damage to our party and our country.” She’s right and it doesn’t matter one bit. Welcome to DC.