Former President Donald Trump was expected to meet Thursday with another possible challenger to Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Politico reported.
Harriet Hageman, a trial attorney who ran unsuccessfully for the 2018 GOP nomination for Wyoming governor, was expected to visit Trump at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, five sources confirmed to Politico.
Trump has met several candidates in recent weeks with an eye toward making an eventual endorsement.
What makes this meeting intriguing is that Hageman has been a friend and supporter of Cheney, who was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to convict Trump in his impeachment trial earlier this year.
Hageman was a member of Cheney's leadership team during a short-lived 2014 Senate campaign. She also contributed to Cheney in 2013 ($500) and 2016 ($1,500), Politico noted.
On Election Day 2018, Hageman wrote that she was "fortunate to be able to spend some time with Congresswoman Liz Cheney this morning, learning more about the challenges we face, as well as the positive steps that have been taken in the last two years to fix Washington D.C."
As of Thursday morning, Hageman's law firm website included two photos of her standing alongside Liz Cheney, including one in which they were joined by the congresswoman’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney. There also was a photo of Hageman standing between a photo of Trump and the American flag.
Hageman and a Trump spokesperson both declined to comment about the meeting to Politico.
Trump already has met with state Rep. Chuck Gray and attorney Darin Smith, both of whom intend to oppose Cheney in the Republican primary. The former president also has welcomed two potential contenders who have not announced campaigns yet — state Sen. Bo Biteman and Catharine O’Neill, a former Trump administration official.
Trump advisors told Politico they hoped a Trump endorsement will limit the numbers of challengers so that Cheney could not win renomination with only a plurality.
Republican Party officials in two rural Wyoming counties announced last weekend they no longer will recognize Liz Cheney as a party member because of her vote to impeach Trump.
"In the immortal words of the 45th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump: 'You're Fired!'" read recent letters to Cheney from GOP officials in Park and Carbon counties.
Newsmax's John Gizzi reported that a new poll showed 72% of Wyoming voters have an unfavorable opinion of Liz Cheney.
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