Several political pundits on Twitter are fighting about whether ousted GOP Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney should earn votes to be the speaker of the House if Democrats maintain control of the lower chamber.
Jennifer Rubin, a Washington Post columnist, tweeted that she’s sold on the idea of Cheney becoming House speaker.
‘OK, I’m sold. Liz Cheney for Speaker,’ Rubin tweeted on Friday.
John Dean, White House council for former President Nixon and CNN contributor, called the idea brilliant.
‘WaPo columnist Jennifer Rubin suggested that if the GOP gets control of the House, Democrats should nominate Liz Cheney Speaker. Brilliant idea in many ways!,’ he tweeted.
Zack Czajkowski, a field organizer for former President Obama’s re-election campaign and regional get out the vote director for former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, also endorsed the idea.
‘Why not Liz Cheney as a transition Speaker of the House. It’ll piss off both Democrats and Republicans. She’s a responsible adult with a conservative voting record, a proven ability to work across the aisle, and most importantly has unflappable morale courage under pressure,’ Czajkowski tweeted.
The idea didn’t get a warm endorsement from others.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Cheney will soon be looking for a job, but it shouldn’t be one in Congress.
‘There will NOT be a Liz Cheney Speakership. She’s looking for a job, but she won’t get that one. Any Republican who would vote for Liz Cheney would be voting for Biden’s agenda,’ she tweeted.
Nina Turner, former Democrat congressional candidate and co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, said that Cheney should never be House speaker.
‘These folks live in an episode of The West Wing, while 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, can’t afford medical treatment, and are struggling to put food on the table. No, Liz ‘I voted against the John Lewis Voting Rights Act’ Cheney should not be speaker. Ever,’ Turner said.
Cheney said at a Nov. 11 event at the University of Chicago that she could see a situation in which some members of the GOP vote for former President Trump as House speaker, because someone outside of Congress can be elected to the position.
‘You can imagine a situation in the current environment where members at the beginning of the alphabet say Donald Trump. You don’t have to be a member of the House to be speaker,’ Cheney said. ‘If people on the Republican side start standing up and saying Donald Trump, you could have an impact where many people say that and where Donald Trump will begin to view that as some sort of a loyalty test. That is the power that he is holding right now over Kevin McCarthy and over a number of members in the leadership of the Republican caucus.’
