A week before former President Donald Trump's term ended last January, 10 Republicans in the House of Representatives joined all Democrats in the January 6 presidential election. voted to impeach President Trump for instigating the riots. US Capitol.
Since then he has been over a year and a half, and after a series of acrimonious broadsides directed at Republicans who dared to speak out against Mr. Trump, Mr. Trump has taken some measure of revenge.
Four of his 10 congressmen who voted for impeachment chose to retire rather than face a pro-Trump candidate in a difficult party primary. , and four of his were defeated in intra-party showdowns by pro-Trump challengers in recent months. Only 2 in 10 are competing with the Democratic opposition in the November general election.
Trump said his most vocal opponent, West Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, was completely defeated in the congressional primary on Tuesday by Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman. Hageman accepted Trump's debunked allegations that he was cheated out of another four-year term.
Cheney was key in the congressional investigation into the riots at the Capitol on January 6 and in Trump's efforts in the weeks following his November 2020 election loss. has played a role. He lost to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
After Cheney lost by more than 2-1 to him, Trump said on his own Truth Social: Riot.
"Liz Cheney should be ashamed of herself, her actions, and her malicious and sacred words and actions towards others," Trump said. "Now she can finally disappear into the depths of political oblivion, where I am sure she will be much happier than she is now. Thank you, Wyoming."
16} Undeterred, Cheney said Wednesday morning that he is considering running for president in 2024.Soon, however, Trump faces several state and federal investigations into his actions to reverse the 2020 results and his role in the Capitol riots. The FBI is also investigating the discovery of highly classified national security documents he kept at his Florida beachside Mar-a-Lago estate, and New York officials have determined that he will be elected president. Previously, it explored the Trump Organization's activities in the global real estate empire.
Cheney has often vowed to do everything he can to prevent Trump from becoming president again. It's unclear if she will attract a national following. Biden, 79, has said he will seek re-election, but some Democratic activists say they want a younger candidate in 2024. . Democrat Doug White defeated a Trump-backed Republican challenger in the November election.
Another impeachment voter, California Republican Rep. somehow avoided being targeted by Trump, even though he said he was "undoubtedly the driving force behind the devastating events" in the riots.
Trump has , did not endorse Republicans who opposed Baradao in the June primary. The fourth term will face Democratic opponents in pro-Democratic congressional districts in November.
Besides Cheney, Republicans Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, Peter Meyer of Midwestern Michigan, and Tom Rice of Southern South Carolina have all voted for Trump in the recent Republican primary. Candidates were exiled. Moon.
Her four other Republican lawmakers who voted for Trump's impeachment have decided to retire. Fred Upton of Michigan. John Catko of New York. Illinois' Adam Kinzinger, like Cheney, was vocal in criticizing Trump at her January Commission of Inquiry. Anthony Gonzalez of Midwest Ohio.
Some of those who chose to retire said Trump supporters targeted them for the impeachment vote, often making acrimonious threats.
When he announced he would not seek re-election about a year ago, Gonzalez said he was concerned about the safety of his wife and children.
After the House voted to impeach Trump, a vote in the Senate acquitted him, but seven Republicans convicted him in a trial held after Biden took office.
Of those senators, only Alaska Senator Lisa Markowski will be re-elected this year. She stepped forward in Tuesday's poll to face Trump-backed challenger Kelly Tshibaka in the November election, where Murkowski put him ahead of Tshibaka by four points in the 19-man primary. and the top four advanced to his November ballot.