Republicans in the House of Representatives followed through with their expected removal of Representative Liz Cheney from party leadership over her refusal to embrace the Big Lie.
The AP reports:
House Republicans ousted Rep. Liz Cheney from her post as the chamber’s No. 3 GOP leader on Wednesday, punishing her after she repeatedly rebuked former President Donald Trump for his false claims of election fraud and his role in inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Meeting behind closed doors for less than 20 minutes, GOP lawmakers used a voice vote to remove the Wyoming congresswoman from her leadership post, the latest evidence that challenging Trump can be career-threatening.
We do not have a roll call of who voted to remove her because it was a voice vote, although Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise both publicly supported her removal. If Republicans were to regain control of the House after next year’s elections, McCarthy would likely become Speaker of the House and Scalise Majority Leader.
The vote was expected, but the result is nonetheless startling. One of America’s two major political parties just instituted a litmus test requiring its members to either advance Donald Trump’s lie that the election was stolen or else remain silent. If they speak the truth, they will be punished.
In a floor speech before the vote, Cheney warned her party about the danger to American democracy.
“Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar,” she said. “I will not sit back and watch in silence while others lead our party down a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former president’s crusade to undermine our democracy.”