Liz Cheney Says ‘History Is Watching’ As GOP Leaders Try To Punish Her For Telling Truth

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) wrote Wednesday that she believed the Republican Party was at “a turning point” amid a growing call from her colleagues that she be removed from her leadership post for rejecting former President Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 presidential election.

In an opinion piece in The Washington Post, Cheney, the third-highest-ranking House GOP member, said efforts to punish her for telling the truth amounted to an attack on “truth and fidelity to the Constitution.” Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and she has continued to reject his false claims that the election was “stolen” from him. President Joe Biden won that race by more than 7 million votes.

“Republicans must decide whether we are going to choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution,” Cheney wrote in the op-ed. “In the immediate wake of the violence of Jan. 6, almost all of us knew the gravity and the cause of what had just happened — we had witnessed it firsthand.”

She continued: “While embracing or ignoring Trump’s statements might seem attractive to some for fundraising and political purposes, that approach will do profound long-term damage to our party and our country.”

Cheney survived a previous attempt to oust her from her role. The House GOP conference is expected to meet next Wednesday, when another vote could take place. It requires a two-thirds vote among the 212 caucus members to replace her.

The Republican leadership has grown more bold in its calls that Cheney be replaced as the chair of the House Republican Conference. A spokesperson for House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said the lawmaker would instead back Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who said Wednesday she was “unified and focused on FIRING PELOSI & WINNING in 2022!”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was caught on a hot mic earlier this week complaining about Cheney, saying she had “real problems” and that he’d “had it with her.” 

“You know, I’ve lost confidence…. Well, someone just has to bring a motion, but I assume that will probably take place,” McCarthy said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” audio of which was obtained by Axios.

Despite the furor, Cheney has continued to reject Trump’s assertions about the election and said Monday that his recent claims about election fraud were false.

“The 2020 presidential election was not stolen,” Cheney wrote Monday on Twitter in response to Trump’s latest attempt to rewrite history. “Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system.”