Trump spokesperson says defeating Rep. Cheney is ‘high priority’

Republicans are looking to oust Cheney from her role as the No. 3 House Republican leader

Donald Trump is rallying Republicans to remove House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney in the 2022 midterm primary elections.

Jason Miller, a Trump spokesperson, told the Washington Post that removing Cheney was “one of the highest priorities as far as primary endorsements go.” The former president has begun meeting advisers in Florida to review campaign endorsements with the intention of supporting a single candidate.

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Rep. Cheney (R-Wyoming) has been vocal about holding Trump accountable for lying about the election results and for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol — which led her to vote to impeach him. On Monday, she tweeted that the election was not stolen and says that “anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their backs on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system.”

Republicans are looking to oust Cheney from her role as the No. 3 House Republican leader and replace her with New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, a vocal Trump ally.

The Washington Post reported that tensions between Cheney and fellow Republicans rose due to disputes behind-the-scenes over principles and that her fellow party members wanted her to move past her differences about Trump, believing it to be a distraction from winning House majority in 2022. She was also alarmed that Republican campaign officials were hiding information from their own members to hide the truth about Trump.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that the Republican party will not remain united without Trump and his loyal supporters.

“She just believes he’s disqualified himself by his conduct, more than it’s any kind of political analysis,” Graham said. “If you look at a political analysis, there’s no way this party is going to stay together without President Trump and his supporters. There is no construct where the party can be successful without him.”

On Wednesday, the former president issued a statement lashing out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), Cheney, and former Vice President Mike Pence for their failure to support his claims of voter fraud after losing to Joe Biden.

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“Warmonger Liz Cheney, who has virtually no support left in the Great State of Wyoming, continues to unknowingly and foolishly say that there was no Election Fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election when in fact, the evidence, including no Legislative approvals as demanded by the U.S. Constitution, shows the exact opposite,” Trump said in the statement.

Cheney responded in an op-ed where she said Trump was “seeking to unravel critical elements of our constitutional structure that make democracy work — confidence in the result of elections and the rule of law. No other American president has ever done this.”

She urged the members of her party to “steer away” from the “Trump cult of personality” and says there’s “much at stake now.”

“History is watching. Our children are watching. We must be brave enough to defend the basic principles that underpin and protect our freedom and our democratic process. I am committed to doing that, no matter what the short-term political consequences might be,” she said.

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