The main inner-party critic of former US President Donald Trump, Liz Cheney, will no longer be a member of the House of Representatives from January. On Wednesday night, the Republican admitted her defeat against her party opponent Harriet Hageman, who had been supported by Trump. Hageman will be running for the Republicans in the Wyoming constituency in November’s congressional elections. Cheney’s defeat had been expected. But she made it clear that she would continue to fight Trump.
Cheney is vice chair of the investigative committee into the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. On that day, after a inflammatory speech by the then president, Trump supporters tried to prevent Congress from officially declaring Democrat Joe Biden the winner of the November 2020 election .
Cheney recently told CNN that Trump was guilty of “the gravest breach of duty by a president in the history of our country.” To this day, Trump maintains the long-disproven claim that he was deprived of victory through fraud. Hageman also agrees with Trump’s lie that there was election fraud.
Cheney said after Tuesday’s vote that the United States was at a point “where our democracy is really under attack and under threat. And I believe those of us, Republicans, Democrats and Independents, who believe deeply in liberty and who care about the Constitution and the future of the country, have a duty to put that ahead of the party.”
After admitting defeat, Cheney said she would continue to do everything in her power to ensure Trump never becomes president again. Shortly thereafter, Trump wrote on the social network he co-founded, Truth Social: “Liz Cheney is a fool who plays right into the hands of those who want to destroy our country!”
Cheney was among 10 Republican congressmen who voted to open a second impeachment trial against Trump after the attack on the Capitol. However, the necessary majority for a conviction was not achieved in the Senate. Soon after, following Trump pressure, Cheney was voted out of a leadership position in her faction.
Liz Cheney is the daughter of former US Vice President Dick Cheney. The 81-year-old recently scored sharply with Trump in an election commercial for his daughter. “In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been a person who poses a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” the Republican said.
There were also votes in Alaska that were followed with excitement nationwide. Because of the complicated new electoral system in the state, it was initially not clear when clear results could be expected. There, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin applied for a seat in the House of Representatives that has been vacated by the death of longtime MP Don Young. Palin competed against two competitors.
Since the seat will be up for grabs in November’s congressional elections, there will also be primary elections in which Palin, her two competitors and numerous other contenders are competing for the candidacy. Trump has pledged his support to Palin. Palin was the butt of ridicule during the 2008 election campaign when, as a US vice presidential candidate, she claimed she could see Russia from her home in Alaska.
Senator Lisa Murkowski also ran in the Alaska primary. She was challenged by Kelly Tshibaka, among others, who has pledged his support to Trump. Murkowski was among seven Republicans who voted in the Senate to impeach Trump. She is the only one from this group who has to seek re-election in November. All seats in the House of Representatives are up for election every two years, in the Senate only around one in three.