Asked during an interview with ABC taped for this coming Sunday’s edition of This Week about the prospect of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) serving as House Speaker, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) ripped the idea of his leadership.
Journalist Jonathan Karl asked Cheney if she thought the country would end up better or worse off in the event of McCarthy becoming Speaker, which could happen if Republicans regain House control later this year. “My views about Kevin McCarthy are very clear,” Cheney replied. “The Speaker of the House is the second in line for the presidency. It requires somebody who understands and recognizes their duty, their oath, their obligation, and he’s been completely unfaithful to the Constitution and demonstrated a total lack of understanding of the significance and the importance of the role of Speaker. So, I don’t believe he should be Speaker of the House.” Check out Cheney’s comments below:
"I don't believe he should be Speaker of the House."
Rep. Liz Cheney tells @jonkarl that Rep. Kevin McCarthy has been "completely unfaithful to the Constitution, and demonstrated a total lack of understanding of the significance and the importance of the role of speaker." pic.twitter.com/KizWZ0L5vE
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 19, 2022
Cheney recently lost the primary in her Wyoming race for re-election, falling behind Trump endorsement-recipient Harriet Hageman, who was once a Trump opponent but now, like so many others within the GOP, is evidently ready to help facilitate the spread of the former president’s ideology and conspiracy theories, no matter what she might say herself. Cheney, though, won’t be leaving Congress right away, of course. For what’ll likely be a significant portion of her remaining time as Congresswoman, she’ll continue serving as vice chair of the House panel investigating the Capitol riot, which is preparing for additional public hearings outlining some of its findings. During earlier public hearings, the committee heard from high-profile witnesses like former Trump administration figures, state officials who faced Trump’s pressure to meddle with the election, and an election worker victimized by some of Trump’s lies.
McCarthy once acknowledged some of the culpability Trump held for the riot — and he subsequently visited with the former president at the southern Florida Trump property known as Mar-a-Lago, posing for a smiling picture while there. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who’s retiring, previously specifically tore into McCarthy’s post-riot visit with Trump, which exemplified the protection for the former president’s political career offered after the riot by so many GOP leaders, despite Donald’s spiraling. McCarthy seemingly struggles to even unequivocally and substantively condemn some of the most egregious behavior from House Republicans like Reps. Paul Gosar (Ariz.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.). McCarthy was also one of the many House GOP’ers who voted against certifying some of Biden’s electoral votes after the last election, suggesting he’d be willing to vote similarly again. Neither he nor the House could unilaterally vote down electoral votes, but getting one step closer to blocking certain votes is nonetheless potentially dangerous.
