McCarthy says Cheney’s potential primary defeat a ‘referendum’ on Jan. 6 panel

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) says that Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-Wyo.) expected primary defeat on Tuesday should be read as the voters rejecting her involvement in the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. 

In an interview with Fox News, McCarthy, who was in Wyoming on Monday campaigning for Cheney’s challenger, Harriet Hageman, said he doesn’t expect a come-from-behind victory for the congresswoman, who was a member of his House leadership team until she became one of the conference’s most vocal critics of former President Trump.

“I don’t think that she’s going to win,” McCarthy said. “I think it’s going to be a referendum on the Jan. 6 committee.” 

The California Republican said that Cheney hasn’t been focused on the issues pertaining to her district due to her involvement with the select committee, noting that she has been focused on “one individual” lately. 

“The principal philosophy” for the GOP, he said, is “less government, an idea of freedom and the aspect that there’s the concepts of a country that’s conceived in liberty and dedicated proposition.”

“Hasn’t she fit that bill over the last several years?” Fox News’s Rich Edson asked. 

“I think our whole focus has been different,” McCarthy replied. “Our whole focus has been against one individual whether she has information or not, instead of focusing on her district itself.”

Cheney is facing an uphill battle to retain her congressional seat, with polling consistently showing her well behind her Trump-backed challenger.. 

Cheney, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in the Capitol insurrection, serves as the vice chairwoman for the Jan 6. committee.

McCarthy also told Edson that he believes the GOP will win back the majority of the House chamber in November’s midterm elections.

“We’ll win the majority, and I’ll be Speaker,” McCarthy said.