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MORE: Cheney slams Trump’s attempt to brand 2020 election ‘the Big Lie,’ sparking new calls for her to leave GOP leadership

02:16
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cheney-trump-election-mccarthy/2021/05/03/41ca672c-ac21-11eb-ab4c-986555a1c511_story.html

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on May 3 said former president Donald Trump was "poisoning our democratic system" with his false claims that the election was "stolen." (Reuters)

By Marianna Sotomayor, Colby Itkowitz and Mike DeBonis
May 3, 2021 at 10:25 p.m. CDT

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Kevin McCarthy as the House majority leader. He is the minority leader. Also, an earlier version said Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.) issued his tweet on Monday. He posted it on Friday. This article has been corrected.

Rep. Liz Cheney made clear Monday that she will continue to publicly denounce former president Donald Trump over his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, imperiling her position in House Republican leadership as GOP members continue to rally around Trump.

House Republican leaders as well as some rank-and-file members have said that Cheney’s statements in recent weeks about Trump are a distraction and that she should focus on issues that unite the party.

But Cheney (R-Wyo.) brushed aside those warnings Monday after Trump issued a statement attempting to commandeer the term “Big Lie,” commonly used to refer to the false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, by asserting that the term should now refer to President Biden’s election victory.

Cheney quickly condemned Trump’s comment as well as anyone who supports his statements about the election.

“The 2020 presidential election was not stolen,” Cheney tweeted. “Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system.”

Hours later, Trump released another statement, this time attacking Cheney by calling her a “big-shot warmonger” and claiming that people in Wyoming “never liked her much.”

. . .

Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump in January on charges that he incited the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol with false claims of a stolen election. Some Republicans demanded she be stripped of her leadership post over that vote, but she beat back an initial challenge overwhelmingly, with 145 members of the conference supporting keeping her in the position. Only 61 voted to remove her during the closed-ballot vote.

But her hold on that position and standing inside the party that her father once helped lead as vice president is now less firm.

. . .

[ For Republicans, fealty to Trump’s election falsehood becomes defining loyalty test ]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-trump-election-falsehood/2021/05/01/7bd380a0-a921-11eb-8c1a-56f0cb4ff3b5_story.html

[ The fading GOP establishment moves to support Cheney as Trump attacks and McCarthy keeps his distance ]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/cheney-trump-mccarthy-orlando/2021/04/23/0b41df94-a3a4-11eb-85fc-06664ff4489d_story.html

[ Cheney’s vote to impeach Trump prompts a voter rebellion in her home state ]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/liz-cheney-trump-impeachment-wyoming/2021/02/02/d7a58f0a-64c9-11eb-8468-21bc48f07fe5_story.html

In response to Republican attacks, Cheney tweeted a clarification that while she disagrees “strongly” with Biden’s policies, she does not regret reaching out to the president of the United States “in a civil, respectful & dignified way.”

“We’re different political parties. We’re not sworn enemies. We’re Americans,” she said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cheney-trump-election-mccarthy/2021/05/03/41ca672c-ac21-11eb-ab4c-986555a1c511_story.html