Liz Cheney scorches House GOP leaders for making themselves 'willing hostages' to Trump

If you pull back a bit, things seem "pretty normal" in Washington, D.C., Politico's Playbook team writes Wednesday. Bipartisan support for infrastructure, "pretty typical" internal Democratic wrangling over social investments, and "even Tuesday's results in the off-year election in Virginia, which sent a message to the new president about overreach, were perfectly in line with recent history." But two stories Tuesday, Politico wrote, were a reminder that "outside of the (relatively) routine sausage-making on Capitol Hill, some enormously worrisome undercurrents remain in American politics."
One of the stories involved House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) publicly asking House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to condemn Rep. Paul Gosar's (R-Ariz.) "horrific video" in which his anime avatar murders Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The other was Rep. Liz Cheney's (R-Wyo.) dire warning about former President Donald Trump and other GOP leaders during a speech in New Hampshire.
"At this moment, when it matters most, we are also confronting a domestic threat that we've never faced before: a former president who's attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional republic, aided by political leaders who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man," Cheney said. She described how Trump, invited by House GOP leaders to a fundraising dinner Monday night, once more whitewashed and justified the Jan. 6 riot by "a violent mob" trying to "overturn the will of the American people."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Political leaders who sit silent in the face of these false and dangerous claims are aiding a former president who is at war with the rule of law and the Constitution," Cheney said. She said she disagrees with every major decision President Biden has made in office and loves the Republican Party, but "I know this country needs a Republican Party that is based on truth" and "willing to reject the former president's lies."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeeze
THE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal