Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming on Monday spoke out against the leaders of her own party as more details emerged about the Buffalo shooting, saying that House GOP leadership “has enabled” white nationalism and white supremacy.
In a tweet, she wrote: “The House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism. History has taught us that what begins with words ends in far worse. @GOP leaders must renounce and reject these views and those who hold them.”
Cheney made the comments after a white man shot 11 Black people and two white people at a Buffalo grocery store, according to law enforcement. Ten people died, and authorities said the man was specifically targeting the Black community.
The Wyoming congresswoman has been one of the only Republican House lawmakers to regularly speak out against former president Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. She was removed from her role last year as number three among House Republicans and replaced by New York Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Cheney is also one of two Republicans serving on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol along with Rep. Adam Kinzinger, D-Ill., another fierce critic of former president Trump and GOP leadership.
On Monday, Kinzinger tweeted about Stefanik specifically, saying she has “pushed” “replacement theory,” the racist ideology that there’s a plot to diminish the influence of white people and that the country belongs to white people.
A 180-page document, purportedly written by the Buffalo gunman, gives plans for the attack and makes references to other racist shootings, while also outlining “replacement theory.” The attack was intended to intimidate all non-white, non-Christian people and get them to leave the country, it said.
“Did you know: @EliseStefanik pushes white replacement theory? The #3 in the house GOP. @Liz_Cheney got removed for demanding truth. @GOPLeader should be asked about this,” Kinzinger wrote.
Stefanik’s campaign committee was criticized last year for an advertisement that said “radical Democrats” were planning a “permanent election insurrection” by granting amnesty to undocumented immigrants who would create a permanent liberal majority in Washington.
A spokesman for her campaign on Monday released a statement saying that Stefanik “has never advocated for any racist position or made a racist statement.”
“She opposes mass amnesty for illegal immigrants and Joe Biden’s wide open border,” the statement reads.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.