Liz Cheney ties House GOP chaos to Trump’s behavior

Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney on Sunday tied the “dangerous” House GOP chaos to former President Donald Trump’s behavior and the Republicans supporting him.

“I wish that it were surprising. You know, what we’ve seen is a result of really the leadership decisions that Kevin McCarthy made back after the 2020 election and certainly after January 6. And, you know, looking the other way in the face of the kind of assault on our democracy that we’ve seen from Donald Trump and his allies in the House,” Cheney told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

Her comments come amid the House GOP’s high-stakes speakership battle after McCarthy was ousted more than two weeks ago. Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday became the latest to exit the race, prompting a crowded candidate field to seek the speakership.

Frustrations and divisions have only intensified within the conference as Republicans search for a way to resolve the impasse. That, along with the GOP’s narrow majority, has made it increasingly unclear whether any candidate will be able to secure the 217 votes needed to win the gavel on the House floor.

Cheney, who was one of Trump’s strongest critics in Congress, said Sunday she has also “been watching the extent to which political violence and the threats of violence have now reared their head once again. Those have become part of our politics in a way that certainly they never should.”

Several Republicans who opposed Jordan’s House speakership bid said they experienced angry calls, menacing messages and even death threats since casting their votes.

“Now, that kind of acceptance of violence is completely inappropriate and dangerous in our politics. So, I – we need people who are serious and who recognize and understand the dangers that we’re facing globally, as well as from Donald Trump and those who support him,” she said.

Trump, Cheney added, “is the single most dangerous threat we face” as a nation.

“He cannot be the next president. If he is, all of the things that he attempted to do but was stopped from doing by responsible people around him at the Department of Justice, at the White House Counsel’s office, he will do. There will be no guardrails and everyone has been warned.”

CNN’s Clare Foran contributed to this report.

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