A GOP senator who opposed impeachment defends Cheney, Murkowski after Trump amps up attacks
- A GOP senator who opposed both of Trump's impeachments defended Liz Cheney and Lisa Murkowski.
- Both GOP lawmakers voted to impeach Trump this year, drawing backlash from their own party.
- Trump last week said the GOP needed to "get rid" of lawmakers who voted to convict him.
A GOP senator who voted against convicting Trump following his impeachments in both 2020 and 2021 spoke out in support of his colleagues who did after the former president targeted them in a speech last week.
Trump in a statement to Politico said Saturday that he would actively campaign against Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who was one of seven GOP senators to vote to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial in the Senate.
"I will not be endorsing, under any circumstances, the failed candidate from the great State of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski. She represents her state badly and her country even worse, Trump told the outlet.
But Murkowski's colleague, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, said he supported her on Sunday.
"I want to always make sure we nominate somebody who can win in November," Barrasso said during an interview Sunday on NBC News' "Meet the Press."
"Lisa Murkowski knows Alaska better than anybody, and she's an incredible fighter for American energy. She hasn't made an announcement if she's even going to run again. If she does, I'm going to support her," he continued.
In his speech last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Trump targeted Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, calling her a "warmonger" who "loves seeing our troops fighting."
"Now more than ever is the time for tough, strong, and energetic Republican leaders who have spines of steel," Trump said last week during his first speech since leaving office. "We cannot have leaders who show more passion for condemning their fellow Americans than they have ever shown for standing up to Democrats, the media and the radicals who want to turn America into a socialist country."
But Barrasso on Sunday spoke up on behalf of Cheney, saying they "work closely together fighting the Biden administration.
"So, I support her. I disagree with her completely on the issue of impeachment. She voted one way, I voted the other," he said.
Cheney was censured by the Wyoming GOP following her vote to impeach the former president for his role in inciting the January 6 riot at the US Capitol that left five people dead. She was one of 10 GOP members of the House to vote to impeach Trump.
During his CPAC speech, Trump said Republicans should "get rid" of Cheney and those Republicans who didn't support him during his latest impeachment trial. The Senate failed to convict in February Trump after all 50 Democrats and seven Republicans voted to convict, while 43 Republicans voted to acquit.