Trump’s Fight With Establishment Fueled Cheney’s Antagonism: GOP Lawmakers

The Washington establishment—both Republican and Democratic—shuns former President Donald Trump because he was an “outsider” who disrupted rules in Washington, according to Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas).

Part of that establishment is the Congress, a “country club” that in Nehls’ terms includes many individuals who “wanted to determine who can come in” and be part of it. One example, he said, is Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who rose to become one of Trump’s fiercest Republican critics.

“Donald Trump fought the country club,” the lawmaker told The Epoch Times. “He comes on in and he changes the wallpaper. He changed the carpet, he changed the furniture, he changed it all.”

“He made the country club about the American people. That’s the difference,” he said. “I believe he changed politics in Washington forever.”

The congressman, a staunch Trump ally, called the change “refreshing,” and believes that many Americans are appreciative of this. But Trump’s moves had also upset Cheney and other establishment figures, he said.

“She, her family and extended family, and some of their very close personal friends don’t like guys like Donald Trump, because he came to Washington, and he shook it up,” said Nehls.

A Top Nemesis

After serving three terms in Wyoming’s lone House seat, Cheney lost her re-election bid by 37 points to Trump-backed primary challenger Harriet Hageman, an outcome that Nehls, and many inside the GOP, saw as a repudiation of her sustained campaign against Trump.

Wyoming Republican congressional candidate Harriet Hageman waves as she takes a picture with children during a primary election night party in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Aug. 16, 2022. (Michael Smith/Getty Images)

Ten Republicans voted to impeach Trump last year. Since then, eight of them, Cheney included, are either due to retire or have suffered a defeat by party rivals endorsed by the former

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