House conservatives pile on Cheney at GOP conference meeting

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus tore into Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) during a heated GOP conference meeting on Tuesday, lobbing attacks at her for breaking with President Donald Trump, supporting Dr. Anthony Fauci and backing a primary opponent to one of their colleagues.

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a Freedom Caucus co-founder and one of Trump's top allies, called out Cheney, the GOP conference chair, for all the times she has opposed Trump and began ticking off some recent high-profile examples, according to two sources in the room. While Jordan praised her defense of Trump during impeachment, he also said Cheney's recent rebukes of Trump — which have focused on Trump's handling of the coronavirus, his Twitter rhetoric, and his foreign policy — were not helpful.

Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, the head of the Freedom Caucus, even accused Cheney of undermining the GOP's ability to win back the House and said that if someone has a problem with Trump, they should keep it to themselves. Cheney responded to the criticism by saying she disagrees with Jordan's assessment and making clear her views are her own.

To Jordan, whose arch-conservative Freedom Caucus was a constant pain for GOP leadership when the party was in the majority, Cheney said: "I look forward to hearing your comments about being a team player when we're back in the majority," according to two sources in the room.

After the meeting, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida — who is not a member of the Freedom Caucus but is closely aligned with the conservative crew — tweeted that Cheney should step down from her position as the No. 3 House Republican. He also discussed at length his issues with Cheney in the most recent episode of his podcast, which posted Tuesday afternoon.

"Liz Cheney has worked behind the scenes (and now in public) against @realDonaldTrump and his agenda. House Republicans deserve better as our Conference Chair," tweeted Gaetz, who himself once split with Trump over a war powers resolution. "Liz Cheney should step down or be removed."

Donald Trump Jr. also took a swipe at Cheney: "We already have one Mitt Romney, we don't need another ... we also don't need the endless wars she advocates for," he tweeted.

The president, however, has been silent about Cheney's public criticism, and has even heaped praise on her at White House events.