Fla. Rep. Gaetz Wants Liz Cheney Out As No. 3 Republican In House

KEY POINTS

Cheney got into an argument with several other members of the GOP House caucus
Gaetz says she's ill-equipped to deal with the realities of reelecting Trump
Cheney says Republicans should be concentrating on solving the pandemic rather than conducting personal attacks

A Florida congressman on Tuesday accused House Republican Chair Liz Cheney of working behind the scenes against President Trump and his agenda. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., called for Cheney to be removed or resign from her position as the third-ranking Republican in the House.

“I do not believe that Liz Cheney is the right person to lead the House Republican Conference into this upcoming November election,” Gaetz said in a podcast. The podcast was first obtained by The Hill in advance of its release.

Liz Cheney has worked behind the scenes (and now in public) against @realDonaldTrump and his agenda.

House Republicans deserve better as our Conference Chair.

Liz Cheney should step down or be removed. #MAGA
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) July 21, 2020

He added: “[Rep.] Jim Jordan, my colleague, my mentor, my friend made the case strongly that Liz Cheney is hurting President Trump."

Gaetz' demand followed an argument during a GOP conference meeting. In addition to Gaetz, Jordan, R-Ohio, and Cheney, R-Wyo., the spat involved Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Chip Roy, R-Texas, Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Louie Gohmert, R-Texas.

The lawmakers criticized Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, for not supporting Trump’s Afghanistan policy, for taking positions that differed from Trump’s on such issues as the coronavirus pandemic and for criticizing Trump’s apparent lack of interest in intelligence reports about Russian bounties on U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan.

If reporting about Russian bounties on US forces is true, the White House must explain:
1. Why weren’t the president or vice president briefed? Was the info in the PDB?
2. Who did know and when?
3. What has been done in response to protect our forces & hold Putin accountable?
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) June 28, 2020

She also backed Massie’s primary challenger, who Gaetz described as a racist.

Cheney told the meeting lawmakers should concentrate on the pandemic rather than personal attacks.

“She’s got values, she’s got guts, and she says what’s on her mind. That resonates with a lot of people,” Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., recently told Politico.

Cheney has not opposed Trump at every turn. Rather, she has taken his side on major issues. FiveThirtyEight noted she has voted with Trump 96.5% of the time, compared to 85.2% for Gaetz.

Cheney was a vocal opponent of impeachment although she did chastise Trump for his Twitter attacks on two witnesses..

Gaetz said Cheney is not prepared to deal with “the reality of the political environment where we’re … trying to reelect the president as a Republic conference.” He said she is “out of step” with the majority.

Coronavirus Afghanistan Trump Donald trump