Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) rallied in Wyoming on Thursday against Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY), making good on his earlier promise to travel west in an effort to let Wyoming know they “can do better.”
“How can you call yourself a representative when you don’t represent the will of the people,” said Gaetz, addressing a crowd of several hundred, reports Politico. “That’s what all the neocons ask about the Arab dictators. I figure maybe we ought to ask the same question of a beltway bureaucrat turned fake cow girl that supported an impeachment that is deeply unpopular in the state of Wyoming.”
“The truth is that the establishment in both political parties have teamed up to screw our fellow Americans for generations,” said Gaetz. “The private insider club of Joe Biden, Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney, Nancy Pelosi and Liz Cheney, they want to return our government to its default setting: enriching them.”
After the event, the Florida congressman tweeted: “Liz, you should come to Wyoming sometime. It’s beautiful here!”
This massive crowd turned out to support my call to defeat @Liz_Cheney in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Liz, you should come to Wyoming sometime. It’s beautiful here! pic.twitter.com/OOJAcbY4sV
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 28, 2021
In a statement to The Washington Examiner earlier this week, Cheney’s office swiped at Gaetz after he announced his plan to rally against her in Wyoming: “Rep. Gaetz can leave his beauty bag at home. In Wyoming, the men don’t wear make-up.”
Gaetz, along with dozens of other House Republicans, has called for new leadership in the House Republican Conference but has also emphasized that he doesn’t want that leadership position for himself.
I do not want her job. I unequivocally am not seeking a position in House Leadership.
I also know Wyoming can do better. https://t.co/6tQc3ZT54X
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 23, 2021
Cheney has been drawing significant backlash from congressional Republicans since she joined with Democrats and nine other House Republicans to impeach President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection over the January 6 riot at the Capitol building.
At least 107 House Republicans have expressed support for ousting Cheney from the House GOP Leadership in a secret ballot, Politico reported last week, citing “multiple GOP sources involved in the effort” to oust Cheney from her GOP leadership role.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has expressed support for Cheney to continue her leadership position, but the top House Republican also said last week that there are still unspecified “questions that need to be answered” within the confines of the conference. More recently, McCarthy reportedly asked House Republicans in a private conference call to stop attacking each other in public, according to Politico, which cited multiple sources on the call.
Cheney has stood by her decision to impeach Trump, recently telling Fox News that she believes it’s important to remember the events of January 6 and to move forward at the same time.
“I think it’s also important we come together as a party now to move forward, to make sure that we are fighting against the kinds of policies that we know the Democrats are going to put forward and also that we’re putting forward a positive agenda of hope and opportunity for the future letting people understand what Republicans stand for.”