Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming on Thursday faced calls at home for her ouster over her unpopular vote to impeach then-President Trump, with Trump ally Rep. Matt Gaetz calling her “disloyal” to the GOP in a rally on the steps of the state capitol.
“How is it that Wyoming has such a disappointing congresswoman?” Mr. Gaetz, a Florida Republican, asked a boisterous crowd. “In a lot of ways, Liz Cheney is exactly like Congress — deeply unpopular and owned by special interests.”
He called for voters to defeat Ms. Cheney in 2022 and for the GOP to remove her from her leadership post in Washington.
Ms. Cheney, the third-ranking House Republican, was one of 10 Republican lawmakers to vote for Mr. Trump’s impeachment on Jan. 13 over his role in a riot at the Capitol a week earlier.
During Mr. Gaetz’s remarks, the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., called in by phone to speak to the crowd. He referred to poll numbers showing about two-thirds of Wyoming voters disapprove of Ms. Cheney’s impeachment vote.
“It seems like Liz Cheney’s favorables there are only slightly worse than her father’s shooting skills,” Mr. Trump said, referring to former Vice President Dick Cheney’s infamous accidental wounding of a hunting companion. “It’s time to have people who are going to start representing the people. Let’s find someone who can replace her and actually do the job well.”
The rally was the latest example of the rift in the GOP over the Capitol riot and Mr. Trump’s impeachment. Trump loyalists say Mr. Trump’s popularity still is the dominant force in the Republican Party and that “establishment” Republicans who support impeachment will pay a political price.
“We are in a battle for the soul of the Republican Party, and I intend to win it. You can send Liz Cheney home, back home to Washington, D.C.,” Mr. Gaetz said.
Mr. Gaetz criticized her for ignoring Mr. Trump’s immense popularity in Wyoming, where he won 70% of the vote in November.
“Leadership doesn’t mean backing a Nancy Pelosi-fueled impeachment by reflex,” Mr. Gaetz said. “How can you even call yourself a representative when you don’t represent the will of the people?”
Ms. Cheney’s office provided a response on her behalf from former Wyoming state Rep. Amy Edmonds: “Wyoming doesn’t like it when outsiders come into our state and try to tell us what to do.”
Previously, Ms. Cheney’s spokesman had criticized Mr. Gaetz as a traveling TV talking head with a makeup bag.
Said Mr. Gaetz: “Liz Cheney taunts me for wearing makeup … makeup only hides the slightest imperfections of the skin. It does very little to cancel soulless corruption.”
He said it’s “far more difficult for Liz Cheney to get the blood off her hands” for supporting foreign wars.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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