Former Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, posted a Donald Trump quote to call out House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Saturday.
GOP control of the House of Representatives got off to a tumultuous start this week after a group of roughly 20 Republicans opposed McCarthy’s speakership bid, demanding changes that would weaken the speaker’s authority to a House rules package.
McCarthy, limited by Republicans’ narrow majority, failed to secure enough support to win the speaker election until late Friday night after 15 rounds of voting. His victory came only after Trump, who remains a popular figure among many conservatives, urged detractors to back McCarthy.
He thanked the former president for his help, telling reporters early Saturday morning: “I want to especially thank President Trump. I don’t think anybody should doubt his influence.”
OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
“He really helped me get those final votes,” McCarthy added. “What he’s really saying, really for the party and the country, we have to come together.”
These remarks sparked criticism from Cheney, who has rejected Trump’s unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election, and has largely been ostracized from the GOP over her Trump criticisms.
Cheney responded to a video of McCarthy’s remarks, with one of Trump’s comments to Justice Department officials about the 2020 election.
“‘Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.’ Donald Trump to the Acting Attorney General and Acting Deputy AG. December 27, 2020,” the former GOP lawmaker tweeted.
“Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.”
Donald Trump to the Acting Attorney General and Acting Deputy AG. December 27, 2020. https://t.co/V6zFmnnj1m— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) January 7, 2023
The quote originated from former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue’s testimony before the House select committee that investigated the Capitol riot. Cheney was one of two Republicans who served on the panel, which accused Trump of seeking to overturn President Joe Biden‘s Electoral College victory.
Cheney Alienated From GOP Over Trump
Cheney’s rejection of Trump’s election fraud claims left her at odds with most Republicans, who have parroted Trump’s 2020 election theories. Her feud with the former president also soured her relations with many of her GOP colleagues, including McCarthy.
McCarthy and Cheney once served side-by-side in GOP leadership before the party voted to remove her as the chair of the House Republican Conference. In addition, McCarthy endorsed Representative Harriet Hageman over Cheney in last year’s GOP primary, which saw Hageman win by nearly 40 points.
Meanwhile, Cheney said last August that McCarthy should not become the next House speaker.
“He’s been completely unfaithful to the Constitution and demonstrated a total lack of understanding of the significance and the importance of the role of speaker. So I don’t believe he should be speaker of the House. And, you know, I think that’s been very clear,” Cheney said during an appearance on ABC News’ This Week.
Newsweek reached out to McCarthy’s office for comment.
