Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio defended Congresswoman Liz Cheney on Sunday amid requests from the Republican Party to punish her for voting for the impeachment of former President Donald Trump.
“I think she is very smart and she plays a key role in our party,” said Portman during an appearance on CNN’s state of the Union. “I hope they don’t go that way. I think it’s important to have her voice in the process.”
“The truth is that I find her very valuable to the team and a great leader,” added Portman.
Even though he defended Cheney, Portman added that the constitutionality of Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate needs to be addressed, since he no longer holds the position and is considered an ordinary citizen.
Cheney, who holds the third highest position in the Republican Party leadership, was one of 10 lower house Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the Capitol rebellion on January 6. 115 of the House’s 211 Republicans call for Cheney to be removed from his leadership post – including representatives Matt Rosendale of Montana, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Matt Gaetz of Florida, among others, according to CBS News.
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy also expressed concern about Cheney’s decision to break with the Republican leadership during an interview with Politico last week.
“It may have a difference of opinion, but one thing if we are going to lead within the conference, we must work together on this as an entire conference because we are representatives of that conference,” said McCarthy.
Photo by JOSHUA ROBERTS / POOL / AFP via Getty Images / Getty
Other members of the Republican Party Congress also faced consequences after their decision to support Trump’s impeachment. The Republican Party of South Carolina voted to censor Congressman Tom Rice on Saturday, saying the congressman “betrayed” his party’s constituents by aligning himself with the “principled leftist”.
Rice has since defended his decision and criticized the Republican Party for “shrinking” before the former president.
“If the president who did what Donald Trump did that day and sent a crowd to paralyze Congress and the result was an attack on the legislative power of the United States government, this is a clear violation of the constitution,” said Rice. “I don’t care if the president who does this is Republican or Democratic, I’m voting for impeachment.”
Newsweek contacted Portman’s office, but got no response in time for publication. Last week, the Ohio senator announced that he will not seek re-election in 2022.