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Liz Cheney refuses to back down on Trump criticism amid growing GOP pressure

03 May 2021
 Dan Ackermann

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the No. 3 Republican on the House, tweeted Monday that anyone promoting "THE BIG LIE" that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump is "turning their back on the rule of law" and "poisoning our democratic system."

Why it matters: Top Republicans are now openly suggesting that Cheney could be removed from her leadership position because of her criticism of Trump, who remains the most popular figure in the GOP. Cheney was one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

  • In February, the House GOP conference held a secret ballot about whether to retain Cheney in her current role. She won overwhelmingly, 145-61.
  • Since then, Cheney has increasingly been at odds with other top House Republicans, including Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), about whether Trump should be a part of the GOP's future.

What they're saying: "This idea that you just disregard President Trump is not where we are, and, frankly, he has a lot to offer still," Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), leader of the largest conservative caucus in the House, told Axios Friday.

The other side: "If a prerequisite for leading our conference is continuing to lie to our voters, then Liz is not the best fit,” Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), who also voted to impeach Trump, told The Hill last week.

  • "Liz isn't going to lie to people. Liz is going to say what she believes. She’s going to stand on principle. And if that's going to be distracting for folks, she's not the best fit. I wish that weren’t the case," Gonzalez added.

The big picture: The divisions between the pro-Trump GOP and Cheney, as well as her allies like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), threaten to derail the Republicans' chances of taking control of Congress in the 2022 midterms.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.