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Bolton defends Cheney amid clash with House conservatives

by Tal Axelrod - 07/21/20 7:26 PM ET

Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton came to Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-Wyo.) defense following a clash between her and other House Republicans behind closed doors on Capitol Hill.

“I know @Liz_Cheney as a principled leader who puts her country first. In the coming months, we are going to need lots of leaders to step up, speak their minds, & stand for their beliefs,” Bolton tweeted.

I know @Liz_Cheney as a principled leader who puts her country first. In the coming months, we are going to need lots of leaders to step up, speak their minds, & stand for their beliefs.

— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) July 21, 2020

The support for Cheney comes after an argument broke out between the Wyoming lawmaker and other conservatives in the House over her public support for leading infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci and for previously backing a primary challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).

Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and more criticized Cheney at a closed-door GOP meeting, and Gaetz followed up with public criticism calling for Cheney to step down from her perch as GOP conference chair.

“Listen, we had a robust exchange of views,” Cheney told The Hill after the meeting. “You know, we have disagreements, and so that’s part of having a healthy conference debate. But I think that it’s a healthy thing to have those kinds of disagreements, and I would imagine that we will be able to make sure that we’re all together and I’ll look forward to being in the majority and having many of those same people want to be team players when were in the majority.”

Bolton is a longtime foreign policy hawk who has taken stances that align closely with Cheney’s on international affairs. He’s also recently adopted a more critical tone toward the president and his allies, many of whom berated Cheney on Tuesday. Bolton recently released a tell-all memoir about his tenure as President Trump’s national security adviser that includes embarrassing details for the White House.