Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives removed Representative Liz Cheney from her party leadership post over her criticism of former President Donald Trump’s claims of fraud in last November’s presidential election.

The caucus voted Wednesday to oust the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney from her post as chair of the House Republican Conference, the third-highest position in House Republican leadership, responsible for communicating  the party’s message to the general public. 

Cheney, the lone representative for the western state of Wyoming, has steadfastly  denounced former President Trump’s claims that he, and not Democrat Joe Biden, was the legitimate winner of the November election, despite his campaign losing numerous court challenges to overturn the final results in key states that he lost. 

She first drew fire within the party when she voted for Trump’s impeachment for his role in inciting the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, when hundreds of his supporters stormed the building to keep lawmakers from certifying Biden’s Electoral College victory. 

In a speech on the House floor on Tuesday night, Cheney described Trump’s continuing efforts to delegitimize the election results as “ a threat America has never seen before.”

“A former president who provoked a violent attack on this Capitol in an effort to steal the election has resumed his aggressive effort to convince Americans that the election was stolen from him. He risks inciting further violence.”

Defending her staunch conservative record, Cheney said “the most conservative of conservative principles is reverence for the rule of law.”  She said “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.”

Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, who has enthusiastically endorsed Trump’s claims, will likely be elected to replace Cheney as party conference chair.  House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy announced his support for Stefanik during a recent  interview on the U.S. cable news network, Fox News.

Source: VOA

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