President Joe Biden calls on Liz Cheney on Wednesday after Wyoming member of Congress and a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump lost in his state’s Republican primary.
According to a person familiar with the conversation, Biden contacted Cheney, who earned the former president’s anger over voting to impeach him over the January 6, 2021 rebellion and his role in the congressional committee investigating the case. ,
The White House declined to comment. A Cheney spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the call.
After a 37-point loss Tuesday night to Trump-backed conservative lawyer Harriet Heijman, Cheney said she would do “whatever it takes” to block the former president’s way back to the White House.
“I believe that Donald Trump remains a very serious threat – a risk to our republic – and I think a broad and united front of Republicans, Democrats, and independents is needed to defeat him. And that’s what I intend to be a part of, Cheney told NBC News.
The 56-year-old is serving her third term in the only US House seat in Wyoming and is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. She has said she is considering launching a presidential campaign in the coming months to challenge Trump’s expected candidacy.
Of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Capitol attack, only two will run for re-election. Four, including Cheney, have lost the Republican primary, while the other four have announced their retirement.
Last month, Cheney attended a ceremony at the White House where Biden honored former Senator Alan Simpson, another Wyoming Republican, with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
