A spokesman for Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney said the congresswoman will not be intimidated into perpetuating baseless allegations about the 2020 election or U.S. Capitol insurrection.
Jeremy Adler, Cheney's communications director, issued a statement Tuesday in response to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's assertion that caucus members were concerned about whether Cheney could fulfill her duties as Republican conference chair.
"This is about whether the Republican Party is going to perpetuate lies about the 2020 election and attempt to whitewash what happened on Jan 6. Liz will not do that. That is the issue," Adler said in a statement, which was first reported by Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman.
McCarthy expressed his frustration with Cheney during an appearance on Fox & Friends, arguing that all members of the GOP need to be on the same page if they want to win back control of Congress in 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," McCarthy said. "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."
Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, was one of 10 GOP lawmakers to vote to impeach former President Donald Trump on the charge of incitement of insurrection after the Capitol attack on January 6. Since then, she's become one of the party's most outspoken members when it comes to refuting claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
"The 2020 presidential election was not stolen," the congresswoman tweeted on Monday. "Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system."
Former Republican congressman and presidential candidate Joe Walsh rebuked the GOP caucus, stating that Cheney is going to be "penalized for telling the truth."
"Think how surreal this is, right?" Walsh said during a recent appearance on CNN. "To be viable in today's Republican party, you have to lie. You have to commit to the big lie, the undemocratic lie that the 2020 election was stolen."
On Monday, Trump weighed into the matter by predicting that Cheney will not win another election in Wyoming again.
"Heartwarming to read new polls on big-shot warmonger Liz Cheney of the great State of Wyoming. She is so low that her only chance would be if vast numbers of people run against her which, hopefully, won't happen," Trump said in a statement. "They never liked her much, but I say she'll never run in a Wyoming election again!"
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Alexandra Hutzler is currently a staff writer on Newsweek's politics team. Prior to joining Newsweek in summer 2018, she was ... Read more
