Some House Republicans are plotting to vote Rep. Liz Cheney out of the GOP’s top leadership circle, but the Wyoming lawmaker has no plans to step aside without first trying to convince the party it must steer clear of former President Donald Trump.
“She’s told people she’s spoken with that she is going to continue this fight,” a top GOP aide told the Washington Examiner. “It’s not just about preserving the future of the party, but the future of the republic.”
House Republicans are expected to bring up a vote to oust Cheney at a closed-door meeting as early as next week when lawmakers return to the Capitol after a district work period.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise are rallying behind New York Republican Elise Stefanik to replace Cheney. Stefanik was an outspoken defender of the president during his first impeachment trial and is a frequent talk show guest who helps promote the House GOP agenda.
But Cheney believes her stance in opposition to Trump is backed by more than a few Republicans in the conference and that many more GOP lawmakers believe the party should steer clear of the former president but are remaining silent to avoid his wrath.
“There are plenty of others in the Republican Party who recognize what she is doing and support her,” the GOP aide said.
Cheney’s opposition to Trump stems from the former president’s declarations that the election was rigged in favor of President Joe Biden. Cheney is among a group of Republicans and all Democrats who blame Trump for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Cheney and nine other House Republicans voted to impeach Trump, while seven GOP senators voted to convict the president, who was ultimately acquitted of the charge.
Cheney has continued to battle Trump on the election’s legitimacy.
On Monday, she used her Twitter account to criticize Trump’s statement labeling the 2020 election “the big lie.”
Without naming Trump, Cheney said anyone making such a claim “is turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system.”
On Wednesday, the pro-Cheney camp on Capitol Hill said the Wyoming congresswoman, first elected in 2016, won’t back down from this position, even if it costs her the leadership post.
“It’s not worth keeping this post if it requires lying,” a GOP aide said.
Cheney has received support from prominent Republicans, including Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican who was among those who voted to convict Trump on the incitement impeachment charge earlier this year.
“Every person of conscience draws a line beyond which they will not go,” Romney tweeted this week. “Liz Cheney refuses to lie. As one of my Republican Senate colleagues said to me following my impeachment vote: I wouldn’t want to be a member of a group that punished someone for following their conscience.”
Cheney survived a February vote to push her out of leadership, but she was aided by McCarthy, who, prior to distributing the secret ballot, asked Republicans to stand behind Cheney.
McCarthy now appears to be frustrated with Cheney for diverting media coverage away from GOP unity and the effort to regain the House in 2022. Republicans have a significant shot at winning back the majority, and McCarthy, a Trump ally, is poised to become speaker.
Without the support of Cheney and Scalise, Cheney will have a much more difficult time holding on to her leadership post.
Cheney backers point out that those who predicted her ouster in February were far off the mark.
Only 61 Republicans voted to remove her, while 145 voted to keep her as caucus chairwoman.
Perhaps a secret ballot could save Cheney once again.
“There are folks who clearly recognize that what she is doing is important and respected, and they believe in it,” a Republican aide said.
