Rep. Liz Cheney's future in the Republican Party's leadership is increasingly in doubt as she refuses to back down from criticisms of former President Donald Trump.

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Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney is the third highest-ranking House Republican. She's also one of the party's fiercest critics of former President Trump for his undermining of the 2020 election and incitement of the January 6 Capitol riot. A growing number of House Republicans say those two roles are incompatible. NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis reports.

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE: It's not just that Congresswoman Liz Cheney voted to impeach former President Trump. It's that as the leader in charge of the party's messaging, she simply refuses to stop speaking out against him.

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LIZ CHENEY: Somebody who has provoked an attack on the United States Capitol to prevent the counting of electoral votes which resulted in five people dying, who refused to stand up immediately when he was asked and stop the violence - that is a person who does not have a role as a leader of our party going forward.

DAVIS: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy long ago walked back his initial criticism of Trump's role in the January 6 attack, but Cheney has been relentless. On Monday, when Trump once again baselessly questioned the integrity of the 2020 election, she tweeted in response, quote, "the 2020 presidential election was not stolen. Anyone who claims it was is spreading the big lie, turning their back on the rule of law and poisoning our democratic system." Last month, she made clear Trump was not welcome at House Republicans' annual retreat in Florida.

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CHENEY: I haven't invited him.

DAVIS: And her anger isn't saved just for Trump. At the retreat, she told reporters that any Republican who objected to the Electoral College counts should never be considered a potential Republican candidate for president. She also broke with party leaders, who are blocking an investigative commission into the January 6 attack because they wanted to also look at violence around the racial justice protests last summer. Democrats say that's a distraction. Cheney agrees.

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CHENEY: I think that's a different set of issues, a different set of problems and a different set of solutions.

DAVIS: The strain is starting to show. McCarthy initially rallied behind Cheney when a faction of the rank and file tried to throw her out of her leadership job after the impeachment vote. His support helped her beat back the effort by a more than 2-to-1 margin on a secret ballot back in February. But this morning McCarthy told Fox News that Cheney's messaging is becoming a problem.

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KEVIN MCCARTHY: I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair, to carry out the message. We all need to be working as one.

DAVIS: Minority Whip Steve Scalise told Axios in an interview that Cheney's views on Trump are out of step with most Republicans.

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STEVE SCALISE: This idea that, you know, you just disregard President Trump is not where we are. And frankly, he has a lot to offer still and has offered a lot. He wants to help us win the House back.

DAVIS: No House Republican has yet to call for another referendum vote on her leadership position. Back home in Wyoming, she's been censured by the state Republican Party for her impeachment vote and is facing a primary challenge for her seat. Trump plans to campaign against her, but she's posting strong fundraising numbers for her reelection campaign and still has the support of Republicans like former Speaker Paul Ryan. Professor Jim King of the University of Wyoming says her opposition to Trump hasn't ruined her political fortunes, but it has changed them.

JIM KING: You know, she may not any longer be on track to be speaker, but I don't see that she's in a position where she's going to lose in Wyoming.

DAVIS: Cheney's office did not respond to requests for comment, but it's clear she has no plans to lower her voice. She recently told The New York Post that she has not ruled out a future presidential run for herself one day.

Susan Davis, NPR News, Washington.

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