A Conversation With Liz Cheney Will Close Out This Year's Texas Tribune Festival

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) (courtesy of Texas Tribune Festival)

Three weeks shy of the Texas Tribune Festival’s 2022 starter gun, the fest has announced a closing night speaker sure to court complaints and cheers alike: outgoing Congresswoman and Vice Chair of the Jan. 6 Commission, Liz Cheney.

With a last name like Cheney, you wouldn’t expect the Republican Congresswoman from Wyoming to get much admiration from Dems. But that’s exactly what Rep. Cheney has garnered in her principled stand against Trump and the MAGA wing that has swallowed the Republican party whole. That stand, naturally, is getting her booted from her job; Cheney’s re-election bid ended Aug. 16 when she got trounced in the Republican primary by Trump-endorsed challenger Harriet Hageman. There’s all kinds of speculation now about Cheney’s next move (including this eye-rolling Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed yesterday arguing Democrats should make her Biden’s running mate in 2024). Sounds like a fine time then to get her onstage and in the hot seat – indeed, the TribFest appearance marks Cheney's first live and in-person sit-down interview since the primary.

TribFest takes place in person in Downtown Austin from Sept. 22-24 and features more than 120 panels and conversations about politics and public policy. Find full lineup and ticket info – including discounted badges for students and educators – here.

The Austin Chronicle is a media partner of the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival.