Cheney won big in DC, but still faces political headaches in Wyoming

close

Video

Karl Rove reacts to House GOP voting to keep Cheney in leadership role

Fox News contributor Karl Rove reacts on 'America's Newsroom' to Rep. Liz Cheney keeping her position in GOP leadership following her impeachment vote against President Trump.

In the end, it wasn’t even close.

Embattled Republican Rep. Liz Cheney easily crushed a push to strip her of her number-three House GOP leadership position over her vote last month to impeach then-President Trump.

Cheney won the support of 145 members of the House Republican Conference Wednesday night, with just 61 Trump loyalists voting to remove her from her leadership role during a secret ballot vote amid a four-hour-long, tense, closed-door meeting.

CHENEY EASILY SURVIVES PUSH BY TRUMP LOYALISTS TO STRIP HER OF HER HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP POSITION

But back home in Wyoming, Cheney still faces troubles in a state Trump won by roughly 44 points over now-President Biden in last November’s presidential election.

The three-term statewide congresswoman and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney has been censured by at least a dozen county-level Republican committees across the Cowboy State, with the Wyoming Republican Party likely to vote on censuring Cheney when it meets this weekend.

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wy., attends a ceremony memorializing U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick as an urn with his cremated remains lies in honor on a black-draped table at the center of the Capitol Rotunda, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, in Washington. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Cheney’s also facing at least one primary challenge when she’s up for re-election next year. And the anti-Cheney effort will likely be bankrolled in part by Trump and his allies.

The congresswoman, who’s followed in the footsteps of her father in advocating for a hawkish and muscular U.S. role overseas, was a vocal critic of Trump’s "America First" policies of limiting the use of American troops in international conflicts. And she was a veteran of numerous clashes with Trump and his allies during his four years in the White House

But Cheney came under fire this year over her vote three weeks ago to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by right-wing extremists and other Trump supporters. Cheney was the most senior of 10 Republicans who joined all 222 House Democrats to impeach Trump, with 197 GOP representatives voting against impeachment.

On the eve of the impeachment vote, the three-term congresswoman from Wyoming said Trump "summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack." She stressed that "there has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution."

GAETZ BLASTS CHENEY OVER TRUMP IMPEACHMENT AT WYOMING RALLY

Heading into the gathering, the anti-Cheney ringleaders said that more than half of all House Republicans would back a potential resolution to strip her of her position. But thanks in part to a strong show of support from House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, and to the vote being a secret ballot, the mass opposition to Cheney appeared to deteriorate.

While her leadership role in Congress is safe for now, Cheney’s trying to make peace with the Wyoming Republicans. In a statement to the Sheridan Press and County 17 News in Gillette, Cheney reiterated that her "vote to impeach was compelled by the oath I swore to the Constitution. Wyoming citizens know that this oath does not bend or yield to politics or partisanship."

And she highlighted that "I will always fight for Wyoming values and stand up for our Western way of life. We have great challenges ahead of us as we move forward and combat the disastrous policies of the Biden Administration.  I look forward to continuing to work with officials and citizens across Wyoming to be the most effective voice and advocate in defense of our families, industries and communities."

But Cheney still faces political headaches.

TRUMP ADVISER SAYS FORMER PRESIDENT WILL BE 'ACTIVELY INVOLVED' IN SUPPORTING GOP PRIMARY CHALLENGES

Trump, who remains very popular with Republican voters, has vowed to remain extremely active in GOP politics going forward, promising to support primary challenges to Republicans up for re-election in 2022 who’ve crossed him in the past.

Last week, top Trump political adviser Corey Lewandowski launched a new PAC named "Fight Back Now America" to support Trump’s mission. Its first target: Cheney.

Trump political adviser Corey Lewandowski targets Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming as he launches a new political action committee, the "Fight Back Now America PAC"

Lewandowski, who managed Trump’s 2016 presidential primary campaign and served as a top consultant on the 2020 re-election effort, told Fox News last week that the former president "will continue to be actively involved in recruiting candidates and holding elected officials accountable for their votes."

Last week, the former president’s political action committee, Save America, released a poll that suggested that Cheney was politically wounded among Republicans by her vote to impeach Trump. Pointing to the poll, Lewandowski emphasized, "I think that Liz Cheney is realizing that in a state that has about a plus-64 Republican rating – some argue the most Republican or conservative state in the country – there are real repercussions for voting to impeach someone based on words."

The survey was showcased hours after it was released by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a top Trump ally, who took aim at Cheney at a large rally on the steps of the Wyoming Capitol.

"Liz Cheney is less popular among Republicans in her own state than Muammar Gaddafi was among the Libyans," Gaetz cracked.

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., grabs the hand of a supporter following a rally against U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, outside the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne. Gaetz spoke to hundreds, bashing Cheney after she voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and called for a group effort in finding the right nominee to replace her when she is up for reelection in 2022. (Michael Cummo/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)

Donald Trump Jr. called into the rally to also attack Cheney. Pointing to her father’s infamous hunting accident, when the then-vice president wounded a friend, Trump’s eldest son argued: "It seems like Liz Cheney’s favorables there are only slightly worse than her father’s shooting skills."

A Republican source with knowledge of Trump Jr.’s political thought process told Fox News that "Don’s focus in 2022 will be on the Democrats, to help the GOP retake the House and Senate. It’s not Don’s wish to see an all-encompassing Republican civil war, but he views Liz Cheney to the exception to that rule."

A Republican strategist in the former president’s orbit pointed to a new national poll released this week that suggested Cheney was immensely unpopular with Republican voters. "You don’t survive with those kind of numbers," the strategist told Fox News.

While Trump world will be able to raise and invest big bucks to target Cheney, she will likely be able to keep competitive in fundraising. Even without any serious opposition last year, the congresswoman raised $3 million for her re-election campaign.

Cheney’s already facing a primary challenge from state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, with others also mulling whether to jump into the race. Multiple challenges would likely help Cheney survive.

At last week’s rally, Trump Jr. warned against dividing the anti-Cheney vote in next year’s primary, saying, "Let’s not split this vote up and blow an opportunity to get rid of a RINO."

RINO is the acronym for "Republican in name only."

While Gaetz’s rally drew a large anti-Cheney crowd, the congresswoman still has many allies in Wyoming.

A week and a half ago, 30 Wyoming lawyers and judges ---including three of the state's former governors, two former state Supreme Court justices, and a former state attorney general -- joined in an op-ed in the Casper Star-Tribune commending Cheney for following her constitutional duty.