Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney said she was “wrong” to oppose gay marriage in the past, a stance that once led to distanced relationships with certain family members.
Cheney, the daughter of the former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney of the George W. Bush administration, has been embattled with other House GOP members in recent months who sharply condemned her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. During an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, Cheney said that her opposition to gay marriage was misguided and spoke about how the position affected her relationship with her lesbian sister and sister-in-law.
Cheney, 55, notably broke with her family in 2013 by opposing gay marriage ahead of a failed Senate bid. Her sister Mary’s spouse, Heather Poe, posted on social media that year that Cheney’s stance was offensive and that “I always thought freedom meant freedom for EVERYONE.”
“I was wrong. I was wrong,” she said. “It’s a very personal issue — and very personal for my family. I believe that my dad was right. And my sister and I have had that conversation … Freedom means freedom for everybody.”
GEORGE W BUSH TO FUNDRAISE FOR LIZ CHENEY AMID TRUMP-BACK GOP PRIMARY CHALLENGE
“I was wrong. I was wrong.” says Rep Liz Cheney about condemning same-sex marriage in 2013, a position that caused a split with her sister Mary, who is married to a woman. Rep Cheney says the sisters are now reconciled. “I love my sister very much.” https://t.co/EwRrkWDcT8 pic.twitter.com/KEdlqibZoJ
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 26, 2021
After voting to impeach Trump, Cheney lost her leadership position as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference.
Meanwhile, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi placed her as vice chairwoman on a nine-person committee to investigate the Jan. 6 riots as numerous critics of the former president have alleged his sweeping allegations of widespread fraud in the 2020 election led to the violent incident.
Trump has vowed to challenge Cheney in the 2022 elections by backing Republican Harriet Hageman, an attorney vying for Cheney’s seat. Cheney is seeking a fourth term and has said her bid for reelection is “going to be the most important House race in the country.”
“A vote against me in this race, a vote for whomever Donald Trump has endorsed, is a vote for somebody who’s willing to perpetuate the big lie, somebody who’s willing to put allegiance to Trump above allegiance to the Constitution, absolutely,” Cheney said.
Cheney has aligned herself with establishment GOP figures who are seeking for lawmakers such as herself to remain in office amid a wave of Trump-endorsed candidates seeking to model their policies off of the Trump administration.
Bush, who initially avoided criticizing his successors after leaving the White House, has become more vocal in his disapproval of Trump and has plans to fundraise for Cheney. During remarks in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, earlier this month marking the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Bush said, “We have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders but from violence that gathers within.”
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Bush’s remarks were largely seen as a jab against Trump, who hosted a rally outside the White House in January as some disaffected voters marched to the Capitol to break inside as Congress was set to certify the election for President Joe Biden.
Despite Trump’s claims of widespread fraud, his former Justice Department found the 2020 election to be secure and said there was no evidence to suggest that fraud foiled the former president’s reelection bid.
