While Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming reaches out to colleagues in the Republican Party House before a meeting on Wednesday to consider an impulse to remove the Congresswoman from her No. 3 Republican leadership position in the House, a Republican senator from high profile is defending it.
Cheney is being criticized by several House Republicans for his vote three weeks ago for the impeachment of then President Trump for inciting the January 6 uprising on the United States Capitol. Cheney was the oldest of the 10 Republicans who joined all 222 Democrats in the House for Trump’s impeachment, with 197 Republican Party representatives voting against the impeachment.
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But Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is supporting Cheney.
“I believe @RepLizCheney is one of the Republican Party’s strongest and most trusted conservative voices. She is a fiscal and social conservative, and no one works anymore to ensure that our Armed Forces are well prepared, “tweeted Graham on Tuesday.
Graham, a great ally and supporter of Trump, emphasized in a second tweet that Cheney’s experience and leadership are “priceless for the Republican Party”.
The congresswoman, who has long followed in her father’s footsteps – former Vice President Dick Cheney – in defending America’s aggressive and muscular role abroad, was a strong critic of Trump’s “America First” policies to limit the use of American troops abroad conflicts.
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Graham later told reporters on the Capitol that although he disagreed with Cheney in his impeachment vote, “for me, I think she is one of the smartest people I have ever met” and a “valuable member” of the Republican Party.
Congresswoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Is calling for a temporary suspension of US Capitol tours while the coronavirus continues to spread. (Photo by: William B. Plowman / NBC / NBC NewsWire via Getty Images)
Graham’s comments came a day after Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell also praised Cheney.
“Liz Cheney is a leader with deep convictions and the courage to act on them,” McConnell said in a statement. “She is an important leader in our party and in our nation. I am grateful for her service and look forward to continuing to work with her on the crucial issues facing our nation.”
While McConnell and Graham praise Cheney, Republican Party leader Kevin McCarthy gave him warm support to remain president of the House Republican Conference.
On the eve of the meeting, more than a dozen House Republicans were officially supporting Cheney, with almost an equal amount pressing to remove her from her leadership position. But anti-Cheney leaders say more than half of all House Republicans would support a potential resolution to remove her from office.
Several sources close to the three-term state representative told Fox News that Cheney is working on the phones, calling other Republican Party members, with some Republicans calling the congresswoman. They add that Cheney is likely to present his case at the meeting, but should not apologize for his impeachment vote. Instead, she must talk about the future of the Republican Party.
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Last week, the former president’s political action committee, Save America, released a poll that suggested Cheney was politically wounded among Republicans for his vote on Trump’s impeachment. The poll was presented the next day when Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, a key Trump ally, targeted Cheney at a large rally on the steps of the Wyoming Capitol.
Gaetz told the crowd that he had spoken to Trump and said the former president wanted him to share the results of the vote. “Liz Cheney is less popular with Republicans in her own state than Muammar Gaddafi was among Libyans,” said Gaetz.
US Representative Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Grabs a supporter’s hand after a demonstration against US Representative Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Thursday, January 28, 2021, outside the Wyoming State Capitol, in Cheyenne. Gaetz spoke to hundreds, criticizing Rep. Cheney after she voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 uprising on the United States Capitol, and called for a group effort to find the right candidate to replace. her when she goes up for re-election in 2022. (Michael Cummo / The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)
Seconds later, Donald Trump Jr. called the rally to attack Cheney as well. Pointing to his father’s infamous hunting accident, when the then vice president injured a friend, Trump’s eldest son argued, “It seems that Liz Cheney’s good points there are only slightly worse than his skills. your father’s shooting range.
“As the people of Wyoming are clearly not enthusiastic about Liz Cheney, we will find someone who can replace her,” pleaded Trump Jr.
But he warned against multiple opponents in the primaries who could split the anti-Cheney vote in next year’s primaries, saying, “We are not going to split this vote and explode an opportunity to get rid of a RINO.”
Sources told Fox News that Wednesday’s closed-door meeting is scheduled to take place at 4:30 pm Eastern Time in the Capitol Visitor Center auditorium. They add that they hope that Republicans in the House will be able to “vent” at the meeting, with McCarthy trying to stay focused on winning back the majority of the House in next year’s midterm elections, rather than internal fights between members.
A vote to remove Cheney from his leadership position is not expected. But if a resolution is presented at the meeting, a two-thirds vote would be needed to suspend the meeting’s rules and force a vote. If the vote fails, the resolution would be referred to a committee within the House Republican Conference. That committee could then decide on the resolution favorably, bringing it back to the conference for a vote at a later date, or they could decide unfavorably, which would essentially kill the movement to remove Cheney from his leadership role.
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The confrontation over Cheney comes when the former president repeatedly promises to play an influential role in the Republican Party and is also flirting with a presidential race in 2024 to try to win back the White House.
Although politically wounded by the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol by right-wing extremists and other Trump supporters with the intention of interrupting the congressional certification of Biden’s victory in the White House – after the then president’s encouragement – the latest poll indicates that Trump remains very popular with Republicans. And Trump’s control remains formidable over a party he reformed and ruled with iron during his four years in the White House.
Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who as Cheney voted for Trump’s impeachment, said in an interview this week with Fox News that Wednesday’s meeting “will really force people out of hiding” and put them “on the register about what they want. party to look like. Is it going to be a right-wing cancellation culture or are we going to be a big tent party? “
But the House’s second Republican, minority leader Steve Scalise, predicted Tuesday on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino that “at the end of the day, we will resolve this internally. We will resolve these battles and divisions internal. “
Fox News Chad Pergram, Jason Donner and Kelly Phares contributed to this story