McCarthy backs Cheney’s GOP challenger after Trump criticism
By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK and MEAD GRUVER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is endorsing a primary challenger to GOP Rep. Liz Cheney in Wyoming. It’s a remarkable step for a party leader that effectively lends his weight to the effort to purge one of former President Donald Trump’s chief critics from Congress. Cheney is the vice chairwoman of the congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. McCarthy is determined to win back control of the chamber in this fall’s midterm elections, and he sees that mission as running through Trump, who remains the undisputed leader of the party.