Rice says fellow Trump target Liz Cheney would be ‘great’ as U.S. House speaker

U.S. Rep. Tom Rice said Sunday his GOP congressional colleague Liz Cheney would be a “great” House speaker if the party takes control after midterm elections, praising her conservative principles and moral authority.

“I think she’s a real Republican. I think she is very conservative and I think she’s a fearless leader,” Rice, who’s represented South Carolina’s 7th congressional district since 2012, told ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl in an interview aired on “This Week.”

Rice and Cheney are among 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump on Jan. 13, 2021, blaming him for the violent Capitol uprising a week earlier as lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden’s victory.

That has left Cheney, the former House Republican Conference chairwoman from Wyoming, on the outs with much of her party, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is seeking to become speaker if Republicans take over the House.

Cheney has done fundraising for Rice and asked her supporters in April to make a campaign contribution for him.

Rice, a five-term congressman who was among Trump’s most reliable votes for much of his administration, is facing a pitched primary battle. One of his opponents, state Rep. Russell Fry of Surfside Beach, won Trump’s endorsement.

Voters go to the polls on June 14.

In his sit-down with Karl, Rice said he’s at peace with the impeachment vote defining his political legacy, and said many of his fellow GOP House members privately agreed with hi

“I think more than you might imagine,” Rice said, adding that Trump would drag the party down if he ran for president again.

“I think it would hurt us,” Rice said. Trump railed against his one-time ally at a March 12 rally in Florence, calling him a “total fool” and “disaster.”

Rice remains unfazed by the attacks — and unapologetic for his vote that stunned Washington.

“It’s interesting to hear people call me a ‘RINO.’ Defending the Constitution is a bedrock of the Republican platform, and that’s what I did,” he said. Voting to impeach Trump was “the conservative vote. There’s no question in my mind.”

Being sent home because of it “absolutely” would be worth the cost, he added.

“So be it. I’ll wear it like a badge. So be it.”

This story was originally published June 5, 2022 at 11:30 AM.