George W Bush to hold fundraiser for Trump nemesis Liz Cheney, reports say

Former president George W Bush will host a fundraiser for embattled Rep Liz Cheney as she faces a robust Republican primary challenger, both Politico and The Wall Street Journal reported.

Mr Bush will host a fundraiser for the Wyoming Republican, whose father Dick Cheney served as Mr Bush’s vice president, on 18 October, the Journal reported. The ex-president’s former adviser Karl Rove, and former Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison will co-host the event in Dallas, Politico’s Olivia Beavers reported.

The fundraising push comes as Ms Cheney is fighting for her political life. Former president Donald Trump, a longtime critic of the Bush family, endorsed primary challenger Harriet Hageman.

The feud largely began after Ms Cheney voted to impeach Mr Trump for inciting the insurrection at the Capitol on 6 January. Similarly, House Republicans ousted Ms Cheney as chairwoman of the House Republican conference.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also selected Ms Cheney to serve on the House’s select committee to investigate the riot on 6 January. She and Rep Adam Kinzinger of Illinois are the only two Republicans to serve on the committee after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the riot. Earlier this month, Ms Cheney was named the ranking Republican on the committee.

Ms Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans to vote for impeachment. Since then, another of them, Rep Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, has opted to not seek re-election.