By Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily
On the eve of her expected ousting from Republican leadership in Congress, Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney on Tuesday evening came out swinging against President Trump in an impassioned speech from the House floor.
In a 6 1/2 minute speech, Cheney said she would not line up with or speak out against Republican leaders who continue to allege that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
“I will not sit back and watch in silence, while others lead our party down a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former president’s crusade to undermine our democracy,” Cheney said.
“Today, we face a threat America has never seen before,” Cheney said. “A former president who provoked a violent attack on this capital. In an effort to steal the election, has resumed his aggressive effort to convince Americans that the election was stolen from him. He risks inciting further violence.”
Cheney, one of only 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump in January, is expected to lose her leadership position in a vote before the House conference on Wednesday.
She survived an earlier vote by a large margin (145 – 61). At that point, she could have dropped her criticism of President Trump’s election fraud claims and her desire to see a 9/11 style independent commission to focus on the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
But she never swayed — even with the likely political consequences.
“What happened on Jan. 6 is unprecedented in our history, and I think that it’s very important that the commission be able to focus on that,” Cheney said in April.
Her push for a commission coupled with continued criticism of Trump’s allegations of election fraud got her into hot water with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans — including those in Wyoming.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis have offered no support to Cheney.
Cheney said during her speech Tuesday that her position has more to do wth the truth than politics.
“This is not about policy. This is not about partisanship. This is about our duty as Americans. Remaining silent and ignoring the lie, emboldens the liar. I will not participate in that,” Cheney said.
