WASHINGTON — Liz Cheney, the Republican congresswoman from Wyoming who has attacked President Donald Trump relentlessly for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, watched President Biden’s Medal of Freedom ceremony from the front row Thursday.
Cheney accepted a White House invitation. Her congressional office said she attended because of a longtime friendship with former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., one of 17 recipients of the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and a fellow citizen of the Cowboy State.
“Senator Al Simpson is a principled leader and his service to Wyoming and our nation is unmatched,” Cheney said in a tweet. “He is most deserving of this honor and I am honored to call him friend.”
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It’s typically unheard of for a Republican lawmaker in the middle of a bruising primary fight to be seen at a high-profile White House event of a Democratic president. But Cheney, vice chair of the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, is an exception.
As she seeks a fourth-term to represent Wyoming’s sole seat in Congress, Cheney is at odds with most of the Republican Party – and a sudden hero to many liberals – warning last week that “Republicans cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution.”
Cheney sat next to Rep. Debbie Wassermann Schultz, D-Fla., former chairwoman of the Democratic Party, in the front row which was reserved for elected officials.
Before the East Room ceremony got underway, Cheney chatted with former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the one-time vice presidential running mate of Al Gore who lost the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush and Cheney’s father, Dick Cheney.
In her primary election, Liz Cheney could benefit from the support of Democrats. Simpson, who served as a U.S. senator in Wyoming from 1979 to 1997, told USA TODAY last year that he believes Wyoming Democrats crossing over and voting in the GOP primary could lead to a Liz Cheney victory.
More: Rep. Liz Cheney faces off against Trump-endorsed challenger in Wyoming GOP primary debate
But Cheney, who has burned connections with many Republicans, faces an uphill fight to win the party’s nomination again in the heavily Republican state against Trump-endorsed attorney Harriet Hageman. Several polls have shown Hagerman ahead significantly over Cheney and Trump carried Wyoming in the 2020 election with 70% of the vote.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump critic Liz Cheney attends White House Medal of Freedom ceremony
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