In the latest sign of a growing fissure in the Republican Party, former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan is hosting a fundraiser for Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who came under heavy fire from some colleagues over her Jan. 13 vote to impeach Donald Trump.
The “virtual event” featuring “special guest” Ryan is being held March 25. Suggested contributions are $5,800 to co-host and $2,900 to attend, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by Politico.
Cheney will face two Republican contenders in the 2022 primary: Wyoming Rep. Chuck Gray and state Sen. Anthony Bouchard.
Cheney was one of 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach Trump over the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. “The oath that I took to the Constitution compelled me to vote for impeachment and ... it doesn’t bend to political pressure,” Cheney told Fox News’ Chris Wallace last month.
She was slammed for her vote by several GOP colleagues — and Trump — and censured by Wyoming’s Republican Party. But she easily survived an effort by hard-right Republicans last month to oust her as House Republican Conference chair.
Ryan, who served as speaker from 2015 to 2019, often clashed with Trump. In January, the former Wisconsin lawmaker shredded efforts by congressional Republicans to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s win in the presidential election as anti-democratic.
“Efforts to reject the votes of the Electoral College and sow doubt about Joe Biden’s victory strike at the foundation of our republic,” Ryan said in a statement. “It is difficult to conceive of a more anti-democratic and anti-conservative act than a federal intervention to overturn the results of state-certified elections and disenfranchise millions of Americans.”