Liz Cheney

"Elizabeth Cheney" redirects here. For the English gentlewoman, see Elizabeth Cheney (1422–1473).

Liz Cheney
Official portrait, 2018
Vice Chair of the House January 6 Committee
In office
September 2, 2021 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Chair of the House Republican Conference
In office
January 3, 2019 – May 12, 2021
LeaderKevin McCarthy
Vice ChairMark Walker
Mike Johnson
Preceded byCathy McMorris Rodgers
Succeeded byElise Stefanik
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wyoming's at-large district
In office
January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byCynthia Lummis
Succeeded byHarriet Hageman
Personal details
Born
Elizabeth Lynne Cheney

(1966-07-28) July 28, 1966 (age 58)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
​
(m. 1993)​
Children5
Parents
RelativesMary Cheney (sister)
Alma materColorado College (BA)
University of Chicago (JD)
Signature
Liz Cheney's voice
Liz Cheney on the COVID-19 pandemic
Recorded March 27, 2020

Elizabeth Lynne Cheney[1] (/ˈtʃeɪni/; born July 28, 1966)[2] is an American attorney and politician. She represented Wyoming's at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023, and served as chair of the House Republican Conference—the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership—from 2019 to 2021. Cheney is known for her vocal opposition to former president Donald Trump.[3][4][5] As of March 2023, she is a professor of practice at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Cheney is the elder daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney and second lady Lynne Cheney. She held several positions in the U.S. State Department during the George W. Bush administration. She promoted regime change in Iran while chairing the Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group with Elliott Abrams. In 2009, Cheney and Bill Kristol founded Keep America Safe, a nonprofit organization concerned with national security issues that supported the Bush–Cheney administration's positions. In 2014 she was briefly a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Wyoming, challenging incumbent Mike Enzi before withdrawing. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016, holding the same seat her father had held from 1979 to 1989.[6]

Regarded as a leading ideological neoconservative[7][8][9] in the Bush–Cheney tradition as well as representative of the Republican establishment,[10] Cheney is known for her pro-business stances and hawkish foreign policy views.[11][12][13] She was once considered one of the leaders of the Republican Party's neoconservative wing,[7] and was critical of the foreign policy of the Donald Trump administration while consistently voting in favor of Trump's overall agenda.[14][15][16][17]

Cheney supported the second impeachment of Donald Trump following the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol.[18] Following her impeachment vote and criticism of Donald Trump, pro-Trump members of the House Republican Conference attempted to remove her from party leadership. In a second attempt, this time with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy supporting her removal, Cheney was removed from her position in May 2021.[19][20][21] In July 2021, Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Cheney to the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. Two months later, she was made vice chair of the committee. As a consequence of her service on the Select Committee, Cheney's membership in the Wyoming Republican Party was revoked in November 2021.[22] She was censured by the Republican National Committee (RNC) in February 2022.[23]

In 2022, Cheney lost renomination in Wyoming's Republican primary to Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman in a landslide, garnering just 28.9% of the vote.[24] Cheney has said that she intends to be "the leader, one of the leaders, in a fight to help to restore" the Republican Party.[25] She later endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.[26][27]

  1. ^ "Cheney makes first visit to World Trade Center site". The New York Times. Associated Press. October 19, 2001. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  2. ^ "Cheney, Liz". Current Biography Yearbook 2010. Ipswich, MA: H. W. Wilson. 2010. pp. 103–107. ISBN 978-0824211134.
  3. ^ "Day of reckoning for Donald Trump's nemesis Liz Cheney". The Economic Times. August 16, 2022.
  4. ^ "Liz Cheney: What's next for the firebrand anti-Trump Republican?". The Independent. August 17, 2022.
  5. ^ "Is the January 6 Committee Cheney's Last Stand?". nationalreview.com. June 16, 2022.
  6. ^ Rahman, Rema (November 8, 2016). "Liz Cheney Wins Wyoming House Seat". Roll Call. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Liz Cheney, Neocon Senator and President?". The National Interest. Archived from the original on March 12, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  8. ^ Zeleny, Eric Bradner,Jeff (August 17, 2022). "How Liz Cheney lost Wyoming's lone seat in the House | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved October 29, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Is Liz Cheney the last best hope to stop GOP extremism?". Forward. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  11. ^ Cooper, Matthew (August 17, 2022). "Does Liz Cheney Have a Future?".
  12. ^ Cole, Devan (July 23, 2020). "Liz Cheney vows to keep expressing differences with Trump after he criticizes her". CNN.
  13. ^ Lemann, Nicholas (May 16, 2021). "The Larger Lesson of Liz Cheney's Ouster". The New Yorker – via www.newyorker.com.
  14. ^ Ferris, Sarah (January 29, 2019). "Liz Cheney rises amid GOP rubble". Politico.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  15. ^ DeBonis, Mike (May 11, 2019). "Liz Cheney confronts a dilemma and the GOP wonders: How high can she go?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  16. ^ Martin, Jonathan (June 1, 2015). "Dick Cheney and Daughter Push Hawkish Stances for G.O.P. Hopefuls". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  17. ^ Glancy, Josh (February 3, 2019). "Like father, like daughter: Liz Cheney soars as Republican hawk". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  18. ^ Draper, Robert (April 22, 2021). "Liz Cheney vs. MAGA". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  19. ^ Strauss, Daniel (May 12, 2021). "Liz Cheney removed from House leadership over Trump criticism". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  20. ^ Edmondson, Catie; Fandos, Nicholas (February 4, 2021). "House Republicans Choose to Keep Liz Cheney in Leadership". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  21. ^ Peterson, Kristina (May 5, 2021). "Behind Liz Cheney's Break With Kevin McCarthy Over Trump". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  22. ^ Wyoming GOP votes to stop recognizing Cheney as a Republican on National Public Radio, Nov 15, 2021
  23. ^ Weisman, Jonathan; Epstein, Reid J. (February 4, 2022). "G.O.P. Declares Jan. 6 Attack 'Legitimate Political Discourse'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  24. ^ "What Rep. Liz Cheney's primary loss says about Trump's influence on the Republican Party". PBS NewsHour. August 17, 2022.
  25. ^ "Would Liz Cheney run to keep Trump from Oval Office? 'Whatever it takes,' she says". Today.com. May 13, 2021. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  26. ^ Gangel, Jamie (September 4, 2024). "Liz Cheney says she is voting for Harris for president | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  27. ^ Megerian, Chris, Liz Cheney will campaign with Harris in Wisconsin while Trump holds a rally in Michigan, Associated Press, October 3, 2024