Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming defended Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi today after the latter rejected two of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s picks for the January 6th Special Commission, GOP Reps. Jim Jordan and Jim Banks.
Cheney, who previously voted to impeach President Trump, said “I agree with what the speaker has done,” taking the part of the opposing political party against her own caucus. Cheney could end up as the only person on the commission to label herself a Republican.
"I agree with what the Speaker has done," says Rep. @Liz_Cheney on Speaker Pelosi's decision to not seat Reps. @Jim_Jordan and @RepJimBanks on the Jan 6 Select Committee pic.twitter.com/M25HqtNeAc
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 21, 2021
Cheney claimed she was supporting Democrats because her colleagues don’t support “the Constitution” or “the rule of law,” telling reporters that “Any person who would be third in line to the presidency must demonstrate a commitment to the Constitution and a commitment to the rule of law, and Minority Leader McCarthy has not done that.”
McCarthy responded to Pelosi’s decision by threatening to pull all five Republican nominees from the committee, warning in a statement that “Unless Speaker Pelosi reverses course and seats all five Republican nominees, Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts” while also stating that it is “undeniable that this panel has lost all legitimacy and credibility and shows the Speaker is more interested in playing politics than seeking the truth.”
Cheney’s decision to side with Pelosi quickly met backlash, with Donald Trump Jr. saying in a tweet that “Liz Cheney’s internal polls must be so bad that she has finally figured out that her only future in politics is in the Democrat Party.”
Liz Cheney's internal polls must be SO BAD that she has finally figured out that her only future in politics is in the Democrat Party…So of course 👇 https://t.co/nwRJfGLyIN
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 21, 2021
The Federalist’s Ben Domenech pointed out that by defending Pelosi, Cheney eliminated “any possibility that her own participation in the committee can be used as a bipartisan smokescreen,” going on to say that if she was smart she “would have criticized Pelosi in order to maintain the fiction.”
By endorsing the Pelosi move immediately, Liz Cheney eliminates any possibility that her own participation in the committee can be used as a bipartisan smokescreen. A smart member would have criticized Pelosi in order to maintain the fiction, but Liz Cheney is not smart.
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) July 21, 2021
