Liz Cheney Under Attack From GOP For Standing Up To Donald Trump

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., may find herself ousted from her position as the third-highest Republican as her strong stance against Donald Trump nets her few allies and increasing hostility from her caucus. Removing her from her post would require a conference vote, but Republican operatives are telling news outlets she could be gone as soon as May 12, and is unlikely to last the month.

“There is no way that Liz will be conference chair by month’s end,” a source close to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California told The Hill. “When there is a vote, it won’t be a long conference; it will be fast. Everyone knows the outcome.”

McCarthy notably defended Cheney after her vote to impeach Trump, but his backing now seems to have waned.

Senior lawmakers in the massive Republican Study Committee, the party’s largest caucus, have also joined the more radical Freedom Caucus in speaking against her.

“This is a broad range of lawmakers who have had it with her,” a second McCarthy ally told The Hill. “She’s a liability, and McCarthy’s as fed up as the rest of us that she is focused on the past rather than winning back the House.”

McCarthy himself has remained more circumspect publicly, but was caught off-mic following an interview with Fox News saying, "I think she's got real problems. ... I've had it with her. ... I've lost confidence."

Cheney maintains that she’s not going anywhere, and has endeavored to refocus the party on the 2022 midterm elections.

"I have heard from members, concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair, to carry out the message," Cheney said Tuesday on Fox News. "We all need to be working as one, if we're able to win the majority. Remember, majorities are not given, they are earned, and that's about the message about going forward."

She’s continued to fight against the narrative that the 2020 election was stolen, but her vocal opposition has attracted the attention of the Republican lodestar that is Trump himself.

"Heartwarming to read new polls on big-shot warmonger Liz Cheney of the great state of Wyoming,” Trump said Monday. “She is so low that her only chance would be if vast numbers of people run against her which, hopefully, won’t happen. They never liked her much, but I say she’ll never run in a Wyoming election again!"

Despite losing the presidency and both houses in 2020, Trump maintains massive support with the Republican base. Polling routinely shows him with approval ratings in the high eighties among conservatives, with a slim majority of GOP voters identifying as Trump followers first and Republicans second.

He has pledged that anyone not following his “make America great” agenda will face primary challengers with his backing.