Although President Joe Biden commended former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney’s “integrity and intrepidness” and “putting the American people over party” while awarding her a Presidential Citizens Medal on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis told Cowboy State Daily she’s not buying it.
“Let’s get one thing straight: Nancy Pelosi hand-selected members like Liz Cheney who openly hated President Trump to ensure the committee ruled unfavorably against him and then had the audacity to claim it was bipartisan and fair,” Lummis told Cowboy State Daily. “Liz Cheney has spent the last few years perpetuating her vendetta against Donald Trump.”
Biden was awarding Cheney for her role as vice chair of the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, which investigated President-elect Donald Trump’s alleged role in inciting the Capitol riot.
Lummis’ comment follows on the heels of a similar comment made by U.S. Sen. John Barrasso on Thursday, arguing that Cheney represents “partisanship and divisiveness — not Wyoming.”
Barrasso’s comment was significant as he had stayed neutral on Cheney since she started speaking out against Trump.
The Ceremony
Cheney, wearing a purple dress, received a standing ovation at the ceremony. When she reached the stage, Biden said something to her privately, causing Cheney to put her hand on Biden’s back in a show of affection.
He then gripped Cheney’s hand tightly while taking a photo with her and the medal he was presenting her.
After a few seconds, Cheney seemed ready to leave the stage and the president's handhold, but Biden held firm, wanting to take more photos with Cheney and let her relish the moment of the standing ovation she was receiving.
He then appeared to give her more compliments, to which Cheney can be seen mouthing the words “thank you.”
What’s It About?
Cheney was one of 20 recipients Thursday to receive the United States' second highest civilian honor.
Biden framed the presentation as a recognition of people who served with honor and decency even “in difficult times.”
“Grave perils are yet to be encountered in the stormy course of the republic, but there is no reason, no reason we should fear them, or doubt our capacity to overcome them,” Biden said, citing a speech Teddy Roosevelt gave before becoming president. “We each endeavor to live so as to deserve the high praise of being called good American citizens. That’s what you all are.”
Context
Cheney lost favor with Wyoming voters after speaking out against Trump, losing to his endorsed candidate U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman in the 2022 election by a lopsided margin.
Lummis also told Cowboy State Daily on Friday that “Wyoming Republicans made their views clear” about Cheney’s “so-called leadership on the made-for-television Jan. 6 committee when she lost her re-election bid by a staggering 40% in 2022.”
Lummis had already been a little less neutral and colder towards Cheney than Barrasso before Thursday, openly endorsing Hageman in her 2022 race. In an op-ed at the time, Lummis said she looks for “candidates who have shown their love and loyalty to Wyoming time and time again” and commended Hageman’s experience working in the state.
However, it’s still surprising to see Lummis ripping a former colleague.
With only three members who are all typically Republican, the Wyoming delegation is typically unified on most issues and often works together on passing the same pieces of legislation.
Further, Cheney took over Lummis’ former House seat in 2017 when Lummis stepped down.
Some have argued that by awarding her the medal, Biden will not preemptively pardon Cheney.
Many have speculated that Biden will pardon Cheney based on Trump’s comments that she and other members of the Jan. 6 committee should be jailed for investigating him. On Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said House Republicans will investigate the disbanded House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Some Cheney supporters have spoken against a potential pardon from Biden, saying it would create a perception Cheney has done something wrong when they believe she has not.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
