On Tuesday, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) spoke out on Twitter in defense of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as the prominent Republican House member continued to face criticism over her opposition to the election lies from former president Donald Trump.
Romney pointedly commented as follows:
‘Every person of conscience draws a line beyond which they will not go: Liz Cheney refuses to lie. As one of my Republican Senate 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.”’
Every person of conscience draws a line beyond which they will not go: Liz Cheney refuses to lie. As one of my Republican Senate 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.”
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) May 4, 2021
Notably, both Romney and Cheney supported the impeachment effort against Trump earlier this year on a charge of incitement of insurrection following the rioting at the Capitol. Cheney supported passing the initial impeachment charge in the House, while Romney supported convicting Trump in the Senate. More recently, Cheney has again spoken out against Trump’s lie that the 2020 presidential election was somehow rigged for Joe Biden. No meaningful evidence in support of the rigging theory has ever emerged. In private remarks at a conservative gathering in Georgia on Monday, Cheney referred to the rigged election lies as “poison,” according to CNN. She’s also spoken out publicly.
Cheney currently serves in a leadership position among House Republicans, but this position could be in jeopardy. CNN noted on Monday that, last week, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) “refused to answer when asked whether she remained a good fit as the conference chair.” According to a source for the same outlet, McCarthy has recently been “furious” over Cheney’s continued opposition to Trump. House Republicans voted earlier this year in favor of keeping Cheney in her leadership position, at which time McCarthy spoke in Cheney’s defense, but in theory, McCarthy could step back — giving room to opposition — if the issue came up for a vote again.
Romney has also faced his own rounds of criticism from Trump and his GOP allies. Recently, Trump even issued a formal press release celebrating boos that Romney faced at a state convention of the Utah Republican Party last weekend. The fact that a former president of the United States issued a formal press release celebrating booing against a sitting U.S. Senator is just staggeringly petty.
