Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz (R) made a trek to Wyoming on Thursday to speak at a rally calling for the ouster of fellow GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, lambasting her to the crowd after she joined House Democrats and nine other Republicans in voting to impeach President Donald Trump.
What are the details?
Cheney, a member of House GOP leadership, broke with her own party in voting to impeach Trump for a second time for a single charge of inciting an insurrection due to his actions surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters.
Several Republicans—including Gaetz—demanded Cheney’s removal from leadership, and he doubled down on his position by speaking in her home state to garner support for having her voted out of office by her constituents.
“Defeat Liz Cheney in this upcoming election, and Wyoming will bring Washington to its knees,” Gaetz told the crowd, according to Politico, who reported that he hit Cheney with “a barrage of insults.”
“How can you call yourself a representative when you don’t represent the will of the people?” the Florida congressman continued. “That’s what all the neocons ask about the Arab dictators. I figure maybe we ought to ask the same question of a beltway bureaucrat turned fake cow girl that supported an impeachment that is deeply unpopular in the state of Wyoming.”
Fox News reported that Gaetz also said, “”Liz Cheney taunts me for wearing makeup in my television appearances. Now, makeup only hides the slightest imperfections of the skin. It does very little to conceal the soulless corruption of Washington, D.C. It’s really easy for me to get a little makeup off my shirt. Far more difficult for Liz Cheney to get the blood off her hands for sending America’s best to foreign lands to die.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz SLAMS Rep. Liz Cheney while campaigning for her opponent
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Gaetz has called for Cheney’s removal from leadership since long before she cast a vote for impeaching Trump.
Following last summer’s GOP caucus meeting—where other members expressed disgust with Cheney for criticizing Trump on other matters—Gaetz tweeted, “”Liz Cheney has worked behind the scenes (and now in public) against @realDonaldTrump and his agenda. House Republicans deserve better as our Conference Chair. Liz Cheney should step down or be removed.”
Anything else?
Gaetz has been a loyal supporter of Trump, but took heat from some allies of the former president when he voted with House Democrats last year to pass the War Powers Resolution aimed at limiting presidents’ authority to wage war.
Cheney herself has also publicly endorsed the ouster of a fellow House GOP colleague. The chairwoman donated $2,500 to a primary challenger to Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie (R) last March, after Massie forced the House to return to Washington and vote on the record on the first coronavirus stimulus package.