Wyoming’s top elected officials are offering no support for U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney as she fights to retain her U.S. House leadership position.
However, two of the three, Gov. Mark Gordon and U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, vowed to continue working for Wyoming regardless of the outcome of a vote to remove Cheney as chair of the House Republican Conference, the No. 3 position among Republicans in the House.
“We have to remember that (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi and (Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer are the real threats to Wyoming,” Gov. Mark Gordon told Cowboy State Daily on Monday. “Regardless of what the House does, I’ll continue working with our delegation to protect our Wyoming’s way of life and advance a conservative agenda.”
Last week, U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Lousiana, confirmed that he is now backing U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-New York, for Cheney’s position. Former President Donald Trump is also expected to endorse Stefanik for the job.
Lummis spokeswoman Abegail Cave directed Cowboy State Daily to a statement the senator gave to the KROE radio station in Sheridan last week about the Cheney situation.
“I served in the House for eight years and I was a member of the Republican conference there,” she said. “[Cheney] is currently the spokesman for that current conference and it’s up to them to determine who they want to lead.”
Lummis added that she didn’t comment on matters in the House of Representatives and how they conduct their business. She noted that during her time in the House, former House Speaker John Boehner lost the support of the conference, which led him to step down and by replaced by former House Speaker Paul Ryan.
“I know how difficult these times can be, having been through it when I was in the House,” Lummis said. “All I can say is, House Republicans will do the best thing for their conference. And I’ll just leave it at that.”
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso did not respond to Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment.
However, when asked by Fox News host John Roberts if Cheney should be replaced, he dodged the question, speaking instead about the importance of returning Republicans to the majority in Congress.
“I chair the conference in the Senate,” Barrasso said. “And we’re focused on the future and taking back the Senate in 2022. We need to be together as a team.”
This isn’t the first time. Two weeks ago while appearing on ABC News, he said the same thing when host Martha Raddatz asked him if Cheney hurt the Republican Party.
“We need to focus on the 2022 elections, so that we can win back the House win back the Senate, get united on the things on which we agree, and then successfully stop the far extreme efforts of this Biden administration and those that are taking the country towards socialism,” he said.
Cheney has faced growing backlash among her Republican colleagues (and many Republicans and conservatives in general) for her vote to impeach Trump following the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. She was one of 10 House Republicans to do so.
Since then, Cheney and Trump have been locked in a battle of sorts, with the former president regularly throwing barbs her way. She recently commented on his claims that he truly won the presidential election, saying anyone who believed that the election was stolen was spreading lies and turning their back on the rule of law.
