77 Facts About Liz Cheney

Elizabeth Lynne Cheney is an American attorney and politician.

Liz Cheney represented in the US House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023, and served as chair of the House Republican Conference from 2019 to 2021.

Liz Cheney held several positions in the US State Department during the George W Bush administration.

Liz Cheney promoted regime change in Iran while chairing the Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group with Elliott Abrams.

Liz Cheney was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016, holding the same seat her father had held from 1979 to 1989.

Liz Cheney was critical of the foreign policy of the first Donald Trump administration while consistently voting in favor of Trump's overall agenda.

Liz Cheney supported the second impeachment of Donald Trump following the 2021 storming of the US Capitol.

Liz Cheney has said that she intends to be "the leader, one of the leaders, in a fight to help to restore" the Republican Party.

Liz Cheney later endorsed and campaigned for Kamala Harris's unsuccessful run in the 2024 presidential election.

Elizabeth Lynne Cheney was born on July 28,1966, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Liz Cheney's younger sister, Mary Cheney, was born in Madison.

Liz Cheney attended part of sixth and seventh grade in Casper, Wyoming, while her father campaigned for Congress.

In 1984 Liz Cheney graduated from McLean High School in suburban Washington, DC, where she was a cheerleader.

Liz Cheney was special assistant to the deputy secretary of state for assistance to the former Soviet Union, and a USAID officer in US embassies in Budapest and Warsaw.

In 2002, Liz Cheney was appointed deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, a preexisting vacant post with an "economic portfolio", a mandate to promote investment in the region.

Liz Cheney's task was to channel money to prescreened groups, some of which were not identified publicly for fear of retaliations from extant governments they sought to undermine.

Liz Cheney participated in the campaign's "W Stands for Women" initiative to target female voters.

Liz Cheney oversaw the launch of two semi-independent foundations, the Fund of the Future, to provide capital for small businesses, and the Foundation of the Future, to promote freedom of the press and democracy.

In that capacity, Liz Cheney endorsed a draft of a new Iraqi constitution.

Liz Cheney headed the Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group, established in March 2006, a unit within the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

In June 2007 Liz Cheney signed on as one of three national co-chairs of Fred Thompson's 2008 presidential campaign.

In January 2012, Liz Cheney was hired as a contributor for Fox News.

Liz Cheney guest-hosted programs such as Hannity and Fox News Sunday.

On July 16,2013, Liz Cheney launched a run for the Senate in 2014 from Wyoming as a Republican, challenging incumbent Republican senator Mike Enzi.

Liz Cheney was expected to receive strong fundraising, but was subject to public perceptions of carpetbagging, having lived in Wyoming only a few years as a child before purchasing a home there in 2012.

Liz Cheney's father represented Wyoming in the House from 1979 to 1989.

Liz Cheney's campaign was marred by criticism from her championing of "hawkish" foreign policy positions to a public spat with her sister over her opposition to same-sex marriage.

Enzi's continuing popularity made it difficult for Liz Cheney to make inroads with Wyoming Republicans.

On January 6,2014, Liz Cheney withdrew from the race, citing family health issues.

Liz Cheney won 21 of 23 counties, losing Albany and Teton Counties to Hunter.

Liz Cheney co-sponsored legislation that would end protection for gray wolves in the Endangered Species Act.

In May 2019, Liz Cheney said that Peter Strzok and another FBI agent who sent personal text messages in which they disparaged various politicians sounded as if they were planning a "coup" and may be guilty of "treason".

Liz Cheney criticized her words, saying they showed "disrespect" for Holocaust victims.

Liz Cheney's statements drew comments from indigenous tribal nations and environmentalists.

At a House Republican Conference in July 2020, some Republicans, including Jim Jordan of Ohio and Andy Biggs of Arizona, criticized Liz Cheney for defending Dr Fauci amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and for previously endorsing Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie's primary opponent.

Liz Cheney signed a letter demanding Swalwell's removal from the House Intelligence Committee.

Liz Cheney said, "the extent to which [the Chinese Communist Party] caused [COVID-19] to be spread around the world has really shone a spotlight on the nature of that regime, and has really focused the attention of not just people in the United States but our allies around the world on the threat that they pose and how important it is we protect ourselves by moving supply chains, by ending our dependence on the Chinese government".

In 2019, according to the New York Times, Liz Cheney publicly feuded with Rand Paul over who was "Trumpier".

Liz Cheney voted against impeaching Trump on both articles during Trump's first impeachment on December 18,2019.

On January 12,2021, following the January 6 United States Capitol attack during the certification process for President-elect Joe Biden, Liz Cheney said during Trump's second impeachment that she would vote to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the attack.

Liz Cheney said that Trump "lit the flame" of the riot and did nothing to stop it.

Liz Cheney was then the third-ranking Republican in the House.

Liz Cheney's words were used over and over again when the Democrats were making their speeches on the floor of the House.

Liz Cheney is an important leader in our party and in our nation.

Liz Cheney raised the possibility of a criminal investigation of Trump for provoking violence and said he "does not have a role as a leader of our party going forward".

Salon wrote that although Liz Cheney is "arch-conservative", she is "now considered too liberal for some GOP extremists".

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said "Liz Cheney is a solid conservative Republican" who "just stood up and told the truth" in May 2021.

Liz Cheney was formally removed by voice vote at a closed-door House Republican Conference meeting on May 12,2021, and was replaced by Elise Stefanik.

On July 1,2021, Liz Cheney was appointed by House speaker Nancy Pelosi to the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.

In May 2021, Liz Cheney said that she intended to be "the leader, one of the leaders, in a fight to help to restore our party".

Liz Cheney expressed support for Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan in his US Senate campaign against Republican JD Vance; Vance supported false claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Liz Cheney endorsed Democratic congresswomen Abigail Spanberger over her Republican opponent, Yesli Vega, who Liz Cheney said promoted conspiracy theories.

On December 5,2023, Liz Cheney released a memoir, titled Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning, in which she recounted her experience before, during, and after January 6, as well as her time serving as Vice Chair of the January 6th Committee, and admonished many of her Republican colleagues, including former House speaker Kevin McCarthy and current speaker Mike Johnson.

In September 2024, Liz Cheney said in an interview with Madison, Wisconsin's The Capital Times that Trump has "so corrupted" the Republican Party during his nine years there that it's causing the Republican Party to die and possibly become unsalvageable and that traditional conservatives such as herself may have to start a new conservative party to revive pre-Trump style conservatism.

Liz Cheney has supported bills to further restrict opioids in the face of the opioid epidemic.

Liz Cheney has largely been considered a neoconservative and an interventionist.

Liz Cheney has criticized what she has called the "Putin wing" of the Republican Party.

Liz Cheney is a strong supporter of Israel and has expressed support for Israeli plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

Liz Cheney signed a letter to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that reaffirms "the unshakeable alliance between the United States and Israel".

On June 21,2019, after Trump called off military strikes against Iran for allegedly downing an American drone, Liz Cheney compared Trump not attacking Iran to Barack Obama not attacking Syria in 2013.

On June 17,2021, Liz Cheney was one of 160 House Republicans to vote against repealing the 2002 AUMF, which granted the Bush administration the authority to wage war with Iraq.

Liz Cheney said that repealing the resolution "would send a message of weakness to our adversaries and allies alike".

Liz Cheney voted to include provisions to draft women in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022.

In 2018, when US senator John McCain criticized CIA director nominee Gina Haspel, Liz Cheney again defended the use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, saying that they "saved lives, prevented attacks, and produced intel that led to Osama bin Laden".

On September 26,2021, during an interview with Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes, Liz Cheney reaffirmed her support for waterboarding, saying that it is not torture.

On October 21,2021, Liz Cheney was one of nine House Republicans who voted to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress.

In 2013, during her Senate bid, Liz Cheney voiced her opposition to same-sex marriage.

Liz Cheney's position is to treat my family as second class citizens.

The family spat becoming a focus of media attention was cited as one of the reasons Liz Cheney ended her Senate campaign.

On September 26,2021, during an interview with Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes, Liz Cheney expressed regret for not supporting same-sex marriage.

Liz Cheney has denounced the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon, saying, "QAnon is a dangerous lunacy that should have no place in American politics".

On September 4,2024, Liz Cheney announced at Duke University that she is supporting Kamala Harris for president.

Liz Cheney was selected for the inaugural 2021 Forbes 50 Over 50, a list of notable entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, and creators older than age 50.

Liz Cheney was included in the 2021 Time 100, Times annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Liz Cheney was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Dartmouth College in June 9,2024.

On January 2,2025, Liz Cheney was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Joe Biden, who described Liz Cheney and fellow recipient Bennie Thompson as "elected officials who served in difficult times with honor, decency, and ensure our democracy delivers".

Liz Cheney was nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for "her defense of freedom and democracy," along with the other members of the January 6th Committee.