Donald Trump personally intervenes in effort to oust Liz Cheney from Republican Party’s leadership team

Former US president Donald Trump has intervened in the effort to kick one of his own party’s leaders out of her job.

Former US president Donald Trump has personally intervened in the effort to kick his most vocal Republican critic out of her leadership position, publicly endorsing the woman who hopes to take her job.

Mr Trump’s target is Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney, whose role as chair of the Republican conference makes her the party’s third-highest ranking member in the House of Representatives.

Ms Cheney, the daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney, is a staunch conservative, but her criticism of Mr Trump since the Capitol riot on January 6 and public denunciations of his lies about the 2020 election have sparked an effort to remove her as conference chair.

As we wrote yesterday, that effort is gaining momentum and appears certain to succeed.

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Liz Cheney is an increasingly lonely figure in the Republican Party. Picture: Jonathan Ernst/AFP

Mr Trump has not been shy about slamming Ms Cheney, and he attacked her again in two separate statements this morning.

“Warmonger Liz Cheney, who has virtually no support left in the great state of Wyoming, continues to unknowingly and foolishly say that there was no election fraud in the 2020 election when in fact the evidence, including no legislative approvals as demanded by the Constitution, shows the exact opposite,” he said in the first statement.

Side note – Mr Trump was alluding to an argument he put forward repeatedly after the election, that some states broke the law by changing their rules to make voting by mail easier without the approval of their state legislatures.

This issue was litigated in the post-election period, and judges rejected Mr Trump’s argument. In Wisconsin, for instance, District Court Judge Brett Ludwig ruled it was “contrary to both the plain meaning of the Constitutional text and common sense”.

Continuing his statement, Mr Trump went on to blast his former vice president Mike Pence and the Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“Had Mike Pence referred the information on six states (only need two) back to state legislatures, and had gutless and clueless MINORITY Leader Mitch McConnell (he blew two seats in Georgia that should never have been lost) fought to expose the corruption that was presented at the time, with more found since, we would have had a far different presidential result, and our country would not be turning into a socialist nightmare!” he said.

“Never give up!”

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Former president Donald Trump. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

Mr Pence presided over the joint session of Congress where the electoral votes were formally counted on January 6. This was the process thousands of Mr Trump’s supporters tried to stop by violently storming the Capitol Building.

Mr Trump claimed Mr Pence had the power to unilaterally reject the results from certain swing states Joe Biden won, enabling Republican-controlled state legislatures to give him the electoral votes instead.

He was wrong. Mr Pence had no such authority, and would have broken the law if he’d complied with Mr Trump’s demands that he intervene.

The former president is also incorrect about only needing “two” states to flip from Mr Biden’s column to change the election result.

The electoral vote count was 306-232 in Mr Biden’s favour. Mr Trump was at least three states short of winning, and maybe four, depending on which states you theoretically flip.

The two Senate seats Mr Trump mentioned during his potshot at Mr McConnell were at stake in a pair of special elections in Georgia on January 5.

Both were won by Democratic candidates, who defeated Republican incumbents. As a result, the Senate is now split 50-50, and Vice President Kamala Harris holds the tiebreaking vote.

Whose fault is that? Mr Trump has his theory. Mr McConnell would undoubtedly have another. It depends who you ask.

Anyway, a couple of hours after that first statement, Mr Trump took another swing, and topped it off by endorsing a different Republican Congresswoman, New York’s Elise Stefanik, to take Ms Cheney’s job as conference chair.

“Liz Cheney is a warmongering fool who has no business in Republican Party leadership,” Mr Trump said.

“We want leaders who believe in the Make American Great Again movement, and prioritise the values of America First.

“Elise Stefanik is a far superior choice, and she has my COMPLETE and TOTAL endorsement for conference chair. Elise is a tough and smart communicator!”

Ms Stefanik was among the 147 House Republicans who objected to the electoral college results on January 6, essentially voting to overturn Mr Biden’s victory. You can understand why Mr Trump prefers her to Ms Cheney.

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is being touted as a potential replacement for Ms Cheney. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

Ms Cheney’s chances of holding on to her job have faded in the last 48 hours, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy refusing to defend her.

“I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair, to carry out the message,” Mr McCarthy told Fox News yesterday.

“We all need to be working as one if we’re able to win the majority.

“I haven’t heard members concerned about her vote on impeachment. It’s more concerned about the job ability, and what’s our best step forward that we can all work together, instead of attacking one another.”

A few hours later, Axios reported that Mr McCarthy had been caught on a hot mic before the TV segment, where he was a little more candid.

“I think she’s got real problems,” he told co-host Steve Doocy off air.

“I’ve had it with – I’ve had it with her. You know, I’ve lost confidence.”

Today, Republican Congressman Andy Biggs signalled Ms Cheney was certain to go during his own appearance on Fox News.

“What changed since February?” asked host John Roberts, referring to a previous (failed) effort to remove her.

One crucial factor, according to Mr Biggs, was Mr McCarthy withdrawing his support for her.

“What changed more, though, is she continued her tirade against President Trump and those who support President Trump, and she’s doing it from a position as the conference chair,” he explained.

He said Ms Cheney was “attacking the base of the Republican Party”.

Liz Cheney. Picture: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images/AFP

Ms Cheney does still have some defenders. Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal published an editorial pushing back against the move to “purge” her, saying Republican leaders “shouldn’t have to lie about 2020 to keep their job”.

“Mr McCarthy knows Ms Cheney is right. The election wasn’t stolen, yet Mr Trump wants an endorsement of his stolen claim to be a litmus test for every Republican candidate. He’s the one who wants to refight his losing campaign,” the paper’s editorial board wrote.

“The better part of political prudence would be for Ms Cheney to ignore Mr Trump. But Mr Trump won’t ignore her. He issued four statements on Monday and three of the four were attacks on fellow Republicans.

“She may be ousted because she is daring to tell the truth to Republican voters, and at personal political risk.”

The Journal warned Republicans will look “foolish or worse” to moderate voters if they choose to “refight 2020 in 2022”.

A handful of Ms Cheney’s colleagues in Congress have also stuck up for her.

“Every person of conscience draws a line beyond which they will not go: Liz Cheney refuses to lie,” said Senator Mitt Romney, another prominent Trump critic.

“As one of my Republican colleagues said to me following my impeachment vote: ‘I wouldn’t want to be a member of a group that punished someone for following their conscience.’”

Congressman Adam Kinzinger was one of just 10 House Republicans to vote in favour of impeaching Mr Trump over the Capitol riot. Ms Cheney was another.

“On January 6, both Kevin McCarthy and Liz Cheney condemned the former guy’s words. Liz hasn’t changed her tune like Kevin quickly did,” he said today.

“They are trying to remove Liz for telling you the truth.”

It is increasingly clear, however, that the overwhelming majority of the party is against her.