PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Rep. Liz Cheney returned fire at House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other GOP lawmakers Thursday after the California Republican and nearly half the conference endorsed her primary opponent.
“A leader with honor would be rejecting — not protecting — the pro-Putin, anti-Semitic, white nationalist members of the party, instead of fighting against Liz Cheney for telling the truth,” Cheney campaign spokesman Jeremy Adler said Thursday.
Ms. Cheney, Wyoming Republican, shared his remarks on Twitter.
The statement came as the House Republican Conference gathered in Florida for their annual policy retreat. Ms. Cheney, however, skipped this year’s gathering, which she attended in Orlando last year when she was conference chair.
Last year’s gathering led to a rift between her and her Republican colleagues over her unyielding denouncements of former President Donald Trump, eventually resulting in her ouster from the House GOP leadership team.
The three-term Wyoming Republican, whose father is former Vice President Dick Cheney, is seeking re-election and faces Trump-endorsed primary opponent Harriet Hageman.
Ms. Cheney has also been absent from weekly Republican Conference meetings in Washington and party task force sessions since she accepted an appointment from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, to serve on the select committee investigating the Capitol riot.
Another GOP lawmaker, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, also is on the Jan. 6 committee. He, like Ms. Cheney, voted to impeach Mr. Trump for inciting the riot. Unlike Ms. Cheney, Mr. Kinzinger is not seeking reelection this year.
Ms. Cheney’s impeachment vote put her at odds with fellow Republicans in Washinton and at home. The Wyoming GOP censured her and no longer recognizes her as part of the party. The Republican National Committee this year also voted to censure her and Mr. Kinzinger.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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