Liz Cheney

Liz Cheney
Born	Elizabeth Lynne Cheney 28 7, 1966
Birthplace	Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Attorney, politician, professor
Title	Professor of Practice, University of Virginia Center for Politics
Known for	U.S. Representative for Wyoming (2017–2023); Vice Chair of the January 6th Committee; opposition to Donald Trump
Education	Colorado College (BA) University of Chicago Law School (JD)
Children	5
Awards	Presidential Citizens Medal (2025)

Elizabeth Lynne Cheney (born July 28, 1966) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the U.S. Representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2023. The elder daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Second Lady Lynne Cheney, she rose to become the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives as chair of the House Republican Conference from 2019 to 2021. A lifelong Republican who held posts in the U.S. State Department during the George W. Bush administration, Cheney's political trajectory shifted dramatically after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Her vote in favor of Donald Trump's second impeachment and subsequent service as vice chair of the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack placed her in direct opposition to the prevailing direction of her own party, leading to her removal from Republican leadership, censure by the Republican National Committee, and a decisive primary defeat in 2022. In the years following her departure from Congress, Cheney endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Joe Biden, and took a position as a professor of practice at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Her career arc—from Republican establishment scion to one of Trump's most prominent intraparty critics—has made her one of the most discussed figures in early 21st-century American politics.

Early Life

Elizabeth Lynne Cheney was born on July 28, 1966, in Madison, Wisconsin. She is the elder of two daughters born to Dick Cheney, who would go on to serve as White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Representative from Wyoming, Secretary of Defense, and ultimately the 46th Vice President of the United States, and Lynne Cheney, an author, scholar, and former chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her younger sister is Mary Cheney, a political activist and businesswoman.

The Cheney family had deep roots in Wyoming politics, and Liz Cheney grew up in an environment steeped in public service and conservative policy debate. Her father represented Wyoming's at-large congressional district from 1979 to 1989 before joining the administration of President George H. W. Bush as Secretary of Defense. The family's connection to Wyoming and to Republican politics at the national level would shape Liz Cheney's own career trajectory in substantial ways, providing both a political network and a set of policy convictions—particularly in the areas of national security and foreign policy—that defined her public life.

Growing up, Cheney spent time in both Wyoming and the Washington, D.C., area, reflecting her father's career in federal government. The family maintained a residence in Wyoming, and Cheney would later establish her own residency there as the foundation for her political campaigns.

Education

Cheney attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She subsequently enrolled at the University of Chicago Law School, one of the country's most competitive law programs, where she obtained her Juris Doctor degree. Her legal education provided the foundation for her subsequent career in government service, particularly in the U.S. Department of State, where legal and policy analysis were central to her responsibilities. The combination of her undergraduate liberal arts education and her rigorous legal training at Chicago equipped Cheney for roles that spanned both policy development and political leadership.

Career

State Department Service

Cheney began her career in government during the administration of President George W. Bush, holding several positions within the U.S. Department of State. Her work at the State Department focused significantly on Middle Eastern affairs and democracy promotion, areas that aligned with the administration's broader foreign policy agenda in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

One of Cheney's notable roles was as chair of the Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group, a position she held alongside Elliott Abrams. In this capacity, she promoted regime change in Iran as a policy objective, consistent with the neoconservative foreign policy framework that characterized much of the Bush administration's approach to the Middle East. The group focused on coordinating U.S. policy regarding Iran and Syria, two countries the administration viewed as significant threats to American interests and regional stability. The unit was eventually disbanded.

Cheney also served as principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department. Her tenure at the department was shaped by the post-9/11 policy environment and the administration's emphasis on promoting democratic governance in the broader Middle East, a project that remained controversial among foreign policy analysts and commentators.

Keep America Safe and Media Career

After leaving government service at the conclusion of the Bush administration, Cheney co-founded Keep America Safe, a nonprofit organization focused on national security issues, in 2009 alongside Bill Kristol, the prominent neoconservative commentator and editor. The organization advocated for positions consistent with those of the Bush–Cheney administration, particularly on issues related to counterterrorism, interrogation policy, and the prosecution of the War on Terror. Keep America Safe served as a vehicle for Cheney to maintain a public voice on national security policy during the Obama administration, frequently criticizing the president's approach to foreign affairs and defense.

During this period, Cheney also served as a contributor to Fox News, providing commentary on national security and foreign policy issues. Her role as a paid Fox News contributor ended when she began exploring a run for political office.

2014 Senate Campaign

In 2013, Cheney announced her candidacy for the United States Senate in Wyoming, challenging three-term Republican incumbent Mike Enzi in the 2014 Republican primary. The campaign generated significant national media attention, both because of Cheney's family name and because of the unusual nature of a primary challenge against a sitting Republican senator in a deeply conservative state.

The campaign proved contentious and short-lived. Cheney faced questions about her ties to Wyoming, given the years she had spent living and working in the Washington, D.C., area and in Virginia. The race also became entangled in a public family dispute over same-sex marriage after Cheney publicly stated her opposition to it, drawing a public rebuke from her sister Mary Cheney, who is gay and married to her partner. The episode attracted widespread media coverage and highlighted tensions within the Cheney family.

Cheney withdrew from the Senate race in January 2014, citing family health issues. The withdrawal ended what had been an increasingly difficult campaign, but it did not mark the end of her political ambitions in Wyoming.

Election to the House of Representatives

Following the announcement by Representative Cynthia Lummis that she would not seek reelection in 2016, Cheney entered the Republican primary for Wyoming's at-large congressional district—the same seat her father had held from 1979 to 1989. She won the Republican primary and subsequently won the general election. Cheney took office on January 3, 2017, beginning her service in the 115th United States Congress.

In Congress, Cheney established herself as a conservative legislator with hawkish foreign policy views and pro-business economic positions, consistent with the neoconservative and Republican establishment traditions in which she had been raised and educated. She was reelected in 2018 and, in January 2019, was elected chair of the House Republican Conference, the third-highest leadership position among House Republicans, succeeding Cathy McMorris Rodgers. In this role, she served under Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, with Mark Walker and later Mike Johnson as deputies.

During the first Trump administration, Cheney's relationship with the president and his supporters was complex. She was critical of certain aspects of Trump's foreign policy, particularly where she perceived departures from the interventionist approach she favored. At the same time, she voted consistently in favor of Trump's legislative agenda on most domestic policy matters, reflecting the overlap between her own conservatism and the administration's positions on taxes, regulation, and other economic issues.

January 6 and Break with Trump

The attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, proved to be the defining event of Cheney's congressional career. In the days following the assault by supporters of President Trump seeking to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's presidential election victory, Cheney became one of the most vocal Republican critics of Trump's role in inciting the violence.

On January 13, 2021, Cheney was one of ten House Republicans who voted in favor of Trump's second impeachment, charging him with "incitement of insurrection." Her vote and continued public criticism of Trump placed her on a collision course with the Republican conference she had been elected to lead.

On May 12, 2021, House Republicans voted to remove Cheney from her position as chair of the House Republican Conference. She was replaced by Elise Stefanik of New York, a Trump ally. The ouster reflected the degree to which the Republican Party had consolidated around Trump in the aftermath of January 6 and the extent to which Cheney's anti-Trump stance had isolated her within her own caucus.

January 6 Committee

In July 2021, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Cheney to the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, one of only two Republicans to serve on the panel (the other being Adam Kinzinger of Illinois). On September 2, 2021, Cheney was named vice chair of the committee, making her the highest-ranking Republican on the investigative body.

As vice chair, Cheney played a prominent role in the committee's public hearings, which were broadcast widely and drew significant national attention throughout 2022. She used her position to present the committee's findings regarding Trump's actions before, during, and after the Capitol attack, and she became closely identified with the committee's work in the public eye.

Her role on the committee had direct political consequences. In November 2021, the Wyoming Republican Party voted to revoke Cheney's membership in the state party. In February 2022, the Republican National Committee formally censured Cheney and Kinzinger for their participation in the committee, characterizing the investigation as a "persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse."

2022 Primary Defeat

In the 2022 Republican primary for Wyoming's at-large congressional district, Cheney faced Harriet Hageman, an attorney endorsed by Donald Trump. The race attracted national attention as a proxy battle over the direction of the Republican Party and the question of loyalty to Trump. Cheney lost decisively, receiving just 28.9% of the vote in a result that was characterized as a landslide defeat. The result underscored the extent to which opposition to Trump had become untenable for Republican elected officials in deeply conservative states.

Hageman went on to win the general election and succeeded Cheney in Congress. In December 2025, Hageman announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Cynthia Lummis.

Post-Congressional Career

After leaving Congress in January 2023, Cheney continued to be active in public life. She took a position as a professor of practice at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, where she has been based since March 2023.

Cheney has maintained a prominent public speaking schedule, appearing at universities and public forums to discuss issues related to democracy, constitutional governance, and the January 6 investigation. In September 2025, she spoke at Northwestern University's Pritzker School about defending democracy and the transformation of the Republican Party under Trump. In January 2026, she addressed a crowd in Sonoma, California, urging attendees to get involved in midterm election efforts.

In May 2025, Cheney gave a talk in Anchorage, Alaska, at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, where she discussed her political future and appeared to signal interest in a potential political run in Alaska.

During the 2024 presidential election, Cheney took the extraordinary step—for a lifelong Republican—of endorsing Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and campaigning on her behalf. The endorsement reflected Cheney's stated belief that preventing Trump's return to the presidency took precedence over partisan loyalty. Harris's bid was ultimately unsuccessful.

Personal Life

Liz Cheney is the elder daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Lynne Cheney. Her younger sister, Mary Cheney, is a political consultant and LGBT rights advocate. Liz Cheney has five children.

Cheney's father, Dick Cheney, died in 2025. Liz Cheney delivered a eulogy at his funeral, recounting his final words and emphasizing his commitment to defending the Constitution over political partisanship. The funeral service was held with former President George W. Bush also delivering a tribute.

Dick Cheney had been a supporter of his daughter's stand against Trump. In January 2022, one year after the Capitol attack, the former vice president accompanied Liz Cheney to the House floor in a gesture of solidarity, drawing attention as one of the few prominent former Republican officials to publicly back her position.

Recognition

In January 2025, President Joe Biden awarded Cheney the Presidential Citizens Medal, one of the highest civilian honors bestowed by the President of the United States. Biden also granted Cheney a pardon from potential future prosecution, a step widely interpreted as an acknowledgment that her work on the January 6 committee and her opposition to Trump could expose her to political retaliation from a returning Trump administration.

Cheney's role on the January 6 committee brought her significant national attention, and her public hearings were among the most-watched congressional proceedings in recent decades. Her willingness to break with her party's leadership made her a prominent figure in media coverage of the post-January 6 political landscape.

Her speaking engagements at major universities—including Northwestern University and the University of Virginia—and public forums across the country have continued to draw substantial audiences, reflecting ongoing public interest in her perspective on democratic governance and the state of the Republican Party.

Legacy

Liz Cheney's political career is defined by two distinct phases: her ascent within the Republican establishment as a national security hawk and daughter of a former vice president, and her rupture with the party over the question of Donald Trump's fitness for office following the January 6 Capitol attack. As The Guardian observed in November 2025, Republicans ousted her after she pursued accountability for January 6, yet the Cheney family's influence continued to linger in certain aspects of Republican governance and foreign policy.

Her service as vice chair of the January 6 committee represented one of the most consequential acts of intraparty dissent in modern American political history. The committee's hearings, in which Cheney played a leading role, produced a detailed public record of the events surrounding the Capitol attack and the efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Cheney's trajectory also illustrated the broader transformation of the Republican Party during the Trump era. Her removal from leadership, censure by the RNC, expulsion from the Wyoming Republican Party, and primary defeat collectively demonstrated the political cost of opposing Trump within the party. At the same time, her endorsement of a Democratic presidential candidate—a step that would have been unthinkable for a Cheney even a few years earlier—reflected the depth of the realignment she believed was necessary to defend constitutional principles.

Her father's support of her position added a multigenerational dimension to the story. Dick Cheney, who had been among the most powerful figures in Republican politics for decades, publicly stood with his daughter against the direction of the party he had helped shape, a decision Liz Cheney commemorated in her eulogy at his funeral in November 2025.

Whether Cheney will return to elected office remains an open question. Her 2025 appearance in Alaska, where she appeared to signal interest in a potential political run, suggested that her political career may not be over.