OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney has gone from being part of the GOP leadership to being a pariah in her own party in the span of a year.
After voting to impeach Donald Trump for a second time, Cheney continued to verbally attack the former president long after he left office, leading to her removal as chairperson of the House Republican Caucus, the party’s No. 3 position in Congress, and shunning by much of the Wyoming Republican Party.
Her decision to take House Speaker Nancy Pelosi up on an offer to co-chair the highly partisan Jan. 6 Committee all but assures she will be tossed out of office by Wyoming voters, based on current polling, come November.
But nevertheless, Cheney continues to harm her reputation and standing among Republicans, as noted by The Western Journal:
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, one of the most vociferous NeverTrumpers on the right and the highest-profile GOP representative to vote for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment last year, is one of only two Republicans selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to sit on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, incursion at the Capitol.
The committee members are currently seeking to obtain the cooperation of GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who they say communicated with then-President Trump on the day of the violence.
Jordan is refusing to cooperate, and with good reason: He knows a rigged game when he sees one. See, Cheney — the more prominent of the two Republicans on the committee — confirmed last week that she blamed Jordan for the riot with a foul-mouthed tirade while the chaos was still taking place.
A report by The Hill noted that Cheney used a recent podcast to confirm that she told Jordan the day of the riot, “Get away from me, you f**king did this.”
Initially, Cheney’s remarks to the Ohio Republican and staunch Trump ally and defender were included in a book by Carol Leonnig and Phillip Rucker, “I Alone Can Fix It,” one of several alleged ‘tell-all’ books published during the former president’s term.
That tome concentrated mostly on Trump’s last year in office, and of course, the Jan. 6 riot and events were mentioned, including Cheney’s comments, which she uttered to Jordan as lawmakers were being led away from the Capitol.
Cheney, the book recounted, relayed her remarks Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley during a phone call: “That f**king guy Jim Jordan, that son of a b**ch.”
“While these maniacs are going through the place, I’m standing in the aisle and he said, ‘We need to get the ladies away from the aisle. Let me help you.’ I smacked his hand away and told him, ‘Get away from me. You f***ing did this,'” she said.
The New York Times’ Michael Barbaro, who was interviewing Cheney for the Times’ “The Daily” podcast, asked the Wyoming lawmaker if the story was true, and she said that it was.
“I was in the aisle, on the aisle and he [Jordan] came over to me, you know, and basically said, ‘we need to get the ladies away from the aisle.’ And, you know, I had watched for the months since the election what was going on and the lies that have been told to people,” Cheney said.
“And, you know, it was both that I, you know, certainly didn’t need his help, and secondly, I thought clearly that the lie that they had been spreading and telling people had absolutely contributed to what we were living through at that moment,” she added.
Her confirmation comes as the Jan. 6 Committee seeks testimony and documents from Jordan, who is refusing to cooperate.
In a letter responding to Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Jordan said the sit-down “request is far outside the bounds of any legitimate inquiry, violates core Constitutional principles, and would serve to further erode legislative norms.”
