Cheney: McCarthy doesn’t deserve to be Speaker

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in an interview aired Friday that she did not think House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) should be Speaker of the House, saying he had been “unfaithful to the Constitution.”

“My views about Kevin McCarthy are very clear. [The] Speaker of the House is the second in line for the presidency. It requires somebody who understands and recognizes their duty, their oath, their obligation,” Cheney told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl in an interview on “This Week” when asked if the country would be better or worse off if McCarthy was the next House Speaker.

“And he’s been completely unfaithful to the Constitution and demonstrated a total lack of understanding of the significance and the importance of the role of Speaker, so I don’t believe he should be Speaker of the House. And I think that’s been very clear.”

Cheney’s comments come just days after she lost her primary to attorney Harriet Hageman (R), who received endorsements from former President Trump and McCarthy for Wyoming’s lone House seat. 

The Wyoming incumbent had drawn the ire of Trump and top Republican leadership for her criticism of the former president and for later serving on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. 

Months after the riot, Cheney was ousted from her leadership position as the House Conference chairwoman for refuting Trump’s baseless allegations that the 2020 election was fraudulent. 

During her concession, Cheney said that she could have easily won her primary again this week, but said it would have required her to go against her conscience and backing Trump’s dubious claims.

“It would have required that I enable his ongoing efforts to unravel a democratic system and attack the foundations of our Republic. That was a path I could not and would not take,” she said on Tuesday to applause. 

“No House seat, no office in this land is more important than the principles that we are all sworn to protect. And I well understood the potential political consequences of abiding by my duty.”

The Hill has reached out to McCarthy’s office for comment.