Cheney’s decision also has major implications for the future leadership of the House GOP, where Cheney has been a fast-rising star.

“I’ve always believed that there’s a point in time where she can get to the very top of the leadership,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.). But, he added, “I don’t think she would be challenging any of our current leadership” to get there.

Cheney, 53, had been wrestling with her political future for months and told reporters she would make a final decision over the holidays when she was back home with her family. Even though Cheney would have been a backbencher in the upper chamber, a high-profile Senate seat would have put her in the national spotlight — potentially paving her way to a national ticket or Cabinet post.

But staying in the House has its upsides, too. Cheney has quickly climbed the leadership ladder — in just her second term, she was elected to serve as GOP Conference chairwoman — and her colleagues have buzzed that she can be speaker one day. Her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, spent his congressional career serving in the House before leaving to join President George H.W. Bush’s Cabinet.

Cheney is also a major asset to the House GOP, which saw its ranks of female lawmakers decimated in the 2018 midterms. Cheney is one of just 13 Republican women in the lower chamber — and the only woman in leadership.

Cheney shared her decision with her House GOP colleagues during a closed-door policy meeting on Thursday morning, according to sources in the room, and received a standing ovation after the announcement. Cheney also made clear she wants House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to be the next GOP speaker, quashing any speculation she would try to leapfrog McCarthy.

“There isn’t a group of people anywhere in this country I would rather fight to victory with than all of you,” Cheney said during the meeting, according to sources. “I will be staying right here with all of you in this incredible House that I love. Let’s go get our majority back and make Kevin McCarthy the next speaker of the House.”

McCarthy, meanwhile, praised Cheney’s decision to stay put in the House — he referred to it as “good news” — and said it was a sign that Republicans are growing increasingly optimistic about their chances of winning back the lower chamber.

“She is a fighter, and she is a powerful voice for conservatives and is the type of person we need to lead the charge to win back the majority,” McCarthy said at his weekly press conference.

Cheney’s decision to remain in the House avoids a potentially nasty GOP primary in Wyoming, where Lummis has already been campaigning for months. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has long feuded with the Cheney family — including backing a different Republican in Cheney’s first election to the House in 2016 — encouraged Lummis to jump in the Senate race.

Lummis praised Cheney in a statement, calling her a “great spokeswoman and leader” for Republicans in Washington.

“Her role as House Republican Conference Chair is one she truly excels in and I think her future knows no bounds,” Lummis said. “It’s a tremendous benefit to the people of Wyoming to have John Barrasso in leadership in the Senate and Liz Cheney in leadership in the House.”

Cheney, meanwhile, isn’t planning to get behind Lummis or any other candidate in the Senate primary just yet.

“She will wait to see what the Senate primary field looks like before considering an endorsement,” a spokesperson for Cheney said. The filing deadline for the Aug. 18 primary is in late May.

Lummis did get a powerful ally after Cheney’s announcement: the conservative Club for Growth endorsed her Senate campaign, with the group’s president, former Rep. David McIntosh (R-Ind.) promising to spend “millions to support her candidacy.”

Since joining Congress in 2017, Cheney has earned a reputation on Capitol Hill for being a leading defense hawk and capable conservative messenger. While she has hugged Donald Trump tightly on most issues, she has occasionally broken with the president on foreign policy.

Cheney ran for the Senate once before, launching a primary challenge to Enzi in 2013. But she abandoned that bid in January 2014, well before the primary, dropping out and running for the House two years later when Lummis retired.

Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.