Liz Cheney for House Speaker? Internet Divided Over Latest Suggestion

Some political commentators have called for Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, to be elected as the next Speaker of the House after the conservative-leaning Washington Examiner reported this week that such discussions were taking place in Congress. While some commentators have voiced strong support for the unorthodox idea, others have staunchly opposed such a move.

Cheney emerged as one of former President Donald Trump's staunchest critics in the aftermath of his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, and the violence that occurred on January 6, 2021—when his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol. In response to Cheney's criticism, Trump endorsed her GOP primary challenger Harriet Hageman, who easily won the Wyoming primary and handily won in the midterm election on November 8.

While Cheney was not reelected to Congress, she could still technically become House speaker if she garnered enough support from House lawmakers. Relatedly, some staunchly pro-Trump Republicans previously floated the idea of electing Trump to the role in a similar manner.

On Twitter, a number of political commentators voiced strong support for the idea of electing Cheney to the top House post, which would put her No. 2 in the line of succession to the presidency. Meanwhile, others were alarmed at the suggestion or mocked it entirely.

"OK, I'm sold. Liz Cheney for Speaker," conservative anti-Trump Washington Post opinion columnist Jennifer Rubin tweeted on Friday.

"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!" CNN contributor John W. Dean wrote in a Twitter post.

Others were less than enthusiastic.

"Liz Cheney will not be speaker of the house. Whoever suggested that idea is an idiot," the verified Twitter account Proud Elephant wrote in a Friday tweet.

"Insanity," staunchly pro-Trump pundit Dinesh D'Souza tweeted, including a link to an article discussing the suggestion.

Newsweek reached out to Cheney's press secretary for comment.

Hans Noel, an associate professor at Georgetown University who researches political coalitions, told Newsweek on Saturday that he'd be "very surprised" if Cheney actually were elected as House speaker.

"I think this is the kind of 'West Wing,' Hollywood scenario that is technically possible, but which wouldn't happen for practical reasons," Noel said. "We could identify some moderate Republicans who might like this idea, and some moderate Democrats, but I doubt that's a majority of the chamber."

Noel added that he wouldn't expect most Democrats to support the plan, particularly progressives who make up a large chunk of the party's House caucus.

"Sometimes some members cross party lines to support another party's candidate, and in the early republic, when the parties were not well-established, there was a case like this. But it would be a feat of extraordinary coordination for it to happen today," he said.

Noel pointed out that beyond Trump and January 6, Cheney's political views don't really appeal to most Democrats—whose support she would need if such a plan were to succeed.

Control of the House has not yet been determined, although analysts largely expect Republicans to take very narrow control of the lower chamber of Congress. As votes are still being counted, Democrats have won 199 seats while Republicans have won 211, according to the Associated Press. Either party needs at least 218 to hold the majority.

NBC News currently estimates that Republicans will ultimately end up with 220 seats and Democrats will have 215. If that prediction is correct, it would demonstrate a small win for the GOP, but would be far short of the promised "red wave" that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, and his allies promised constituents. There is also still a slim possibility that Democrats could ultimately hold onto the majority after all votes are counted.

Although McCarthy was long seen as the clear frontrunner to be the next House speaker, his party's underwhelming performance in the midterms has drawn scrutiny and backlash against his leadership. Some Republicans are openly calling for another lawmaker to be elected to the role, while many are saying their members need to at least discuss alternatives.