Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who was ousted Wednesday as the third-highest ranking House Republican, told ABC's "This Week" that she regrets voting for former President Trump in 2020, although she could never have supported Biden.
Why it matters: Cheney, voted out of House Republican leadership over her repeated condemnation of Trump and his unfounded claims of election fraud, plans to challenge the former president for ideological dominance of the GOP.
Key exchange:
KARL: "I mean, how could you not regret that vote, given what's happened?"
CHENEY: "Yeah. I mean, look, I was never going to support Joe Biden, and I do regret the vote. I think that it was a vote based on policy, based on, sort of, substance and what I know in terms of the kinds of policies he put forward that were good for the country, but that I — I think it is fair to say I regret the vote."
KARL: "If the Republican Party nominates Donald Trump in 2024, could you stay in a Republican Party that decides that he should be the nominee again?"
CHENEY: "I will do everything that I can to make sure he's not the nominee and, you know, everything necessary to make sure that he never gets anywhere close to the Oval Office again."
KARL: "But would you remain in the party if he were the nominee?"
CHENEY: "I will not support him and will do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen."
What to watch: Cheney said she is focused on her re-election in Wyoming when asked what it would take for her to run for president. She said her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, would like to see her run — adding with a laugh that "he's not objective."
