Liz Cheney: Wyoming GOP votes to expel Cheney over Trump criticism

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Representative Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) Makes an opening statement during a hearing at Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, July 27, 2021. (Jim Bourg / Reuters)

The Wyoming Republican Party voted to expel Republican Rep. Liz Cheney over the weekend for her criticism of former President Trump and instigating the Jan.6 Capitol riot.

In a 31-29 vote, the state party cut ties with Cheney and ended his recognition as a Wyoming Republican. Pushed by some members of the state’s central committee, a resolution urged Congress to strip her of committee duties and disqualify her as a Republican “to aid and accelerate her smooth exodus from the Republican Party,” reported the Casper Star-Tribune.

Cheney’s spokesperson rejected the committee’s decision, criticizing members for being more loyal to what he suggested was demagoguery rather than conservative principles.

“She is bound by her oath to the Constitution,” spokesman Jeremy Adler told the Washington Post. “Sadly, part of the Wyoming GOP leadership has abandoned this fundamental principle and has instead been held hostage by the lies of a dangerous and irrational man.”

Directly after the January 6 riot, in which a crowd of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building before the certification of the 2020 election results, Cheney accused the former president of inciting violence. with its inflammatory rhetoric. She was one of ten House Republicans to stray from the party line and vote to impeach Trump for instigating the riot.

“The President of the United States called this crowd, gathered the crowd and lit the flame of this attack,” Cheney said in a statement after the riot. “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

Cheney was kicked out of her post as chair of the House GOP conference in May as she continued to criticize Trump for insisting he won the election. Minority Parliamentary Leader Kevin McCarthy said at the time that many lawmakers had “lost faith” in Cheney’s leadership abilities.

After the vote, she continued to reject allegations by Team Trump that the 2020 election was “stolen.”

“We must move forward on the basis of the truth. We cannot both embrace the big lie and embrace the Constitution, ”Cheney said after the vote to oust him from his role. “I will do all I can to ensure that the former president never approaches the Oval Office again.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Cheney as one of two Republicans, along with Adam Kinzinger, to serve on the Capitol Riot Inquiry Committee. In September, Cheney was chosen to lead the committee, with Democratic Chairman and Representative Bennie Thompson endorsing her.

“Representative Cheney has repeatedly demonstrated her commitment to getting answers on Jan. 6, to ensuring accountability and to doing everything in her power to protect democracy for the American people,” Thompson said in a statement. . “His leadership and ideas shaped the early work of the select committee, and this appointment underscores the bipartisan nature of this effort. “

Tip the NR press team.

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