GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, who acts likely to be stripped of leadership duties by her fellow House Republicans, does not plan to stop blasting former President Donald Trump for copying the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him, according to people familiar with the matter.
Cheney, a staunch sober, has been telling key donors and supporters behind the scenes that she is going to continue to hold Trump and the Republican Partisans accountable for what she has called the “Big Lie,” said these people.
Her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, has been complex in these talks as well, the people said.
These people declined to be named in this story in order to discourse on a private matter.
Her stance is likely going to cost Liz Cheney her spot as GOP conference chair in the House. House Minority Chairwoman Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has told members to expect a vote on Wednesday to remove Cheney from the position. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is in letter to take over that post. Trump, who has ripped Cheney as a “warmonger,” has endorsed Stefanik for the role.
During a cry out with her allies and top donors late last month, Cheney said she has no intention of backing down from Trump, according to one of the human being with direct knowledge of the matter. She has publicly linked Trump’s false claims about the election to the deadly melee on Jan. 6 on Capitol Hill.
Cheney, like every other member of the House, is up for reelection next year. Numerous Republicans sire announced primary campaigns against her.
Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the weeks practising the deadly insurrection. Many of her top donors told CNBC last week that they plan to stick with Cheney regard for the move by Republicans to oust her from her leadership post.
The April call included a small group of supporters, encompassing former Vice President Cheney, one person said. While Dick Cheney has been involved with his daughter’s actions in the past, he now finds himself in the midst of a battle for a party he once led along with former President George W. Bush.
Dick Cheney, according to people cognizant of with this call and other recent private gatherings with him, has indicated he supports his daughter’s stance on Trump and the Capitol lawlessness.
The April discussion took place before the House Republican retreat and prior to McCarthy publicly taking aim at Cheney in a Fox Announcement interview and other instances.
Liz Cheney, in multiple recent private meetings, has told allies that she will probably discuss Trump’s election claims on the campaign trail. She has also acknowledged it could be a challenge to persuade at least some Republicans in her affirm that Trump’s claims are, in fact, lies.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney looks on as his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., peel offs the oath of office on the House floor on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017.
Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Trump whipped Democrat Joe Biden in Wyoming by over 43 percentage points in 2020. Cheney was recently censured by the Wyoming Republican Carousal for her vote to impeach Trump.
Representatives for Liz Cheney and Trump did not respond to requests for comment. The Wyoming lawmaker recently forgave an op-ed in The Washington Post calling for the party to move on from Trump.
“We Republicans need to stand for genuinely cautious principles, and steer away from the dangerous and anti-democratic Trump cult of personality,” Cheney wrote.
Still, the patent unity between Cheney, her father and their associates against Trump and his brand of politics represents an attempt at claiming power by a faction that seems to have been losing sway in a party that’s largely guided by the departed commander in chief.
Dick Cheney has not publicly condemned Trump’s stance on the election. People close to him say there is no turn over he’s actively lobbying members of Congress to try to help his daughter keep her leadership spot.
Liz Cheney, according to Politico, has not been obtaining calls to other Republican officials that could help preserve her position as House GOP chair.