In a renewed warning call Friday, Wyoming’s former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney forecast a full divorce between the Republican Party and the U.S. Constitution if Republicans nominate a powerful Ohio Republican to be House speaker.
Hours after Cheney's warning, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, did win the Republican nomination for House speaker and now must secure 217 floor votes to win the post.
Jordan chairs the House Judiciary Committee and is an ally of former President Donald Trump.
He’s also Wyoming’s official choice for the House speaker position with the public backing of the state’s only House representative, Harriet Hageman, another Republican.
‘Abandoning The Constitution’
Cheney, who lost the 2022 Republican Primary election to Hageman by nearly 40 points, is again deriding the new delegate’s position.
“Jim Jordan was involved in Trump’s conspiracy to steal the election and seize power,” wrote Cheney Friday on X.com, formerly Twitter. “He urged that (former Vice President Mike) Pence refuse to count lawful electoral votes. If Rs nominate Jordan to be Speaker, they will be abandoning the Constitution. They’ll lose the House majority, and they’ll deserve to.”
Jim Jordan’s Judiciary Committee and its subcommittees have held fiery hearings this year, taking on what Jordan calls “the border crisis,” alleged corruption in the FBI and other bureaus, the exhaustive discovery findings in anti-censorship social media case Missouri v. Biden, and policy surrounding transgender-related treatments for kids.
The Race
Jordan reentered the race for speaker on Friday after losing the GOP nomination to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, by 14 votes Tuesday.
Scalise dropped out Thursday night after he was unable to get enough support from members of his conference, the Hill reported.
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Georgia, also launched a campaign for the speakership Friday.
Cheney announced last week that she doubts Jordan can get the votes from the whole House to become speaker.
“Jim Jordan knew more about what Donald Trump had planned for Jan. 6 than any other member of the House,” said Cheney in a speech last week. “(He) was part of the conspiracy in which Donald Trump was engaged as he attempted to overturn the election.”
The events of Jan. 6, 2021, fueled much of Cheney’s speech and actions in 2022 as she investigated the Capitol breach as part of a House Select Committee tasked with compiling evidence.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
