One party calls her a “spy,” the other “a partner of such strength and courage.”
As Democrats embrace Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), elevating her to vice chair of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, at least one Republican is trying to banish her from the GOP.
On Thursday, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), the select committee’s chair, celebrated Cheney’s vice chair appointment. “Representative Cheney has demonstrated again and again her commitment to getting answers about January 6th, ensuring accountability, and doing whatever it takes to protect democracy for the American people,” Thompson said in a statement.
“We are fortunate to have a partner of such strength and courage, and I look forward to continuing our work together as we uncover the facts, tell the American people the full story of January 6th, and ensure that nothing like that day ever happens again,” Thompson added.
But across the aisle, the head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), is trying to force Cheney out of the Republican Conference.
CNN reports that Biggs is circulating a letter calling Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) “spies” who cannot be trusted. Like Cheney, Kinzinger has been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and he, too, sits on the House select committee probing January 6th. Their participation in the investigation gives the committee’s work the veneer of bipartisanship, which is a major win for Democrats.
Biggs is asking fellow Republican lawmakers to sign the letter, which he plans to forward to Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Biggs hopes McCarthy will ban Cheney and Kinzinger from the GOP Conference. Biggs claims it’s necessary to “protect our own.”
“This proposal is not because of a policy or political difference, but because some members have chosen to work with the Democrats to investigate and potentially remove Republican Members from the House,” the letter says, according to a draft copy obtained by CNN.
Neither Cheney nor Kinzinger attend weekly GOP conference meetings, but Kinzinger addressed Biggs’ efforts Wednesday night. “I think this is interesting. Just coming off a member declaring bloodshed will happen, many pushing Covid denialism and Jan 6 trutherism…. The GOP has a choice. I am even more committed to getting truth now,” he tweeted.
Cheney, who’s already lost her leadership role in the GOP, brushed aside criticism from her Republican colleagues. On Thursday, she released a statement reading, “We owe it to the American people to investigate everything that led up to, and transpired on, January 6th. We will not be deterred by threats or attempted obstruction and we will not rest until our task is complete.”
Writing in The Washington Post, columnist Greg Sargent explains, “the new campaign against Cheney and Kinzinger contains a key tell. It’s this: The contrast between the accommodation of advocates of political violence and insurrection on one side — and the censure of those who want a full repudiation of both — is largely a project of GOP elites.”